Alcohol and Industry
by Lockheed X-17
Summary: It all started when she retired her fortress. It had been a fun run, playing the game and building her fort. She couldn't find a way to end it, and it had been too much of a monumental achievement for her to simply abandon it. Instead, she started a new game. She made a new adventurer. And she became the Feared Overseer in a different world...
1. Prologue

Yep. It's another DF fic. From me. I wonder how many DF fics are out here in SB? I could only remember a few... Anyways, a snippet. May or may not be expanded on the future.

§

It was raining. The skies above the accursed plains were dark and grey, the sun never even shining upon the evil earth. Blood fell down from the sky. Blood that made them sick and nauseous. It was already pooling, coating the land in crimson red.

The plants that live in these lands were twisted, and frightening. Eyes that sprout from grass, tentacles that resembled worms. The creatures that lived aboveground were also terrible, yet it could be said that none lived in these lands.

None, except for the already dead. Such corpses litter the earth, all of them shambling, all of them roaming, all of them in varying degrees of rot. Some looked like normal humans, excluding their pale skin and lifeless gait. Others were corpses, whose parts had just rotted, arms and legs sometimes missing. Some were skeletons, held only together by magic, and through magic it moved. Others were simply walking skins, skins that took the shape of their former life, and moving as if they were so.

The Orichalcum leveled party did not expect such undead. While the quest they took warned them of such, they did not think it would be different from other quests.

They were wrong. Very, very wrong.

A fog had appeared just near them, blowing eastward. They had learned to avoid it, for everything it touches would be corrupted, turned into mindless husks not unlike the undead around them. But unlike the corpses, these husks were strong, as capable as they were in life as they are in death. In fact, it could be said that they had grown stronger, and faster, and better, as they never tire nor feel pain.

Their quest was supposed to be a simple investigation, checking some newfound ruins of an older civilization. They expected undead, but not on this scale.

This was different from the Katze Plains, where the dead rise from the very earth. That place was dark, and cold, and covered with ghastly smoke.

This place exuded evil unlike anything they have ever seen. The horrors that lived on the surface could be easily said as terrifying, what more about the things that lived underneath it?

Slowly, they moved their small, five-man party (they had been seven) towards the gate of the ruins. They noticed that it was made out of rock, instead of wood. Understandable, as trees were rare in these parts, and the trees that did grow here were twisted, corrupted.

What kind of unspeakable horrors would lurk underneath? he thought. What kind of things would they uncover? What tales could they discover from behind these ancient gate?

One of their party members went towards the gate, wanting to unlock it.

But something happened instead. The gate 'fell' towards them, the gears and the mechanisms activating and brought it down.

It was a drawbridge, and something beneath it was anticipating them.

Swallowing hard, the party's captain decided to enter the fortress. Staying out here would not be good, for even with their skills and magic the dead would come to kill them.

§

They explored the halls. They did not expect that the drawbridge would activate. Clearly, there were people still living in here.

But who could they be?

When the drawbridge closed it was clear that they could no longer escape from here. Sighing, one of the members took out a torch. When it was lit, they were amazed at what they saw.

There were countless traps, traps made from quality metal, traps that were forged masterfully. Clearly, the people within this ruins-no, this fortress were aware of the undead threat outside them, and they were prepared.

The party tread carefully, trying not to activate the traps. They did not want to die here, after all.

After roaming around and bumbling through the hallway they arrived at another gate. This time, there were fortifications. While there was no light within them, the party members could hear their presence.

People. And they are armed.

After a few minutes, the drawbridge opened. It was a symbol, he thought. They were letting them in.

Of course, the captain said they would enter, and that they did. The halls inside was still dark, and unlit. Perhaps the inhabitants were demihumans? No human could survive living here without light.

They watched, and they waited. The demihuman member of their party, a cat-eared person, had led the way, for he could see clearly in the dark as he could in daylight. The soldiers around them were short, and stout. They were also wearing high-quality armour, their crossbows heavily encrusted with gems and bone.

Dwarves, he thought. Only the Dwarves could have these sorts of beard and metal.

They did not expect dwarves to actually live in these plains, for as far as he knew they lived in mountains and in hills. But he had never seen a dwarf before, and even now, in the absolute darkness that was only partially lit by the torches he could only glimpse parts of them.

"What sort of business do you have in this outpost?"

The voice was deep, and resonated through their bones. The tone, however, was flat, as if this was just another job him.

The captain replied; "We are an adventuring party sent here to investigate these ruins. We did not expect that there would be people living inside here."

"Ruins? I guess that's what the outside world would think of out little outpost here in the terrifying plains." the voice mused, slight laughter could be heard around them.

It kind of creeped him out.

"Very well then," the voice suddenly said. "The Overseer would like to have a word with you."

"Overseer?"

"Well," the dwarf explained. "she's the Overseer. The one who established this fortress, and the one running it."

Their captain paused for a while, and then he spoke. "Well then, we have a lot of questions in store for her."

"Care to give an example?" the voice asked.

"Like why had she thought that it would be a good idea to establish a fortress in the Katze Plains?"

"Well, you'll know soon enough..."

§


	2. Chapter 1: Beginning of an Adventure

§

The wind blew eastward over the blood-soaked plains, carrying a giant dark fog. The fog was full of dust, and everything the dust would touch would be corrupted by it's evil magic. That is, everything that is alive.

The already dead began to rise, and roam on the surface of the evil land. The corpses of the formerly dead, the bodies of the recently deceased plague the surface, walking over the vile earth. The plants too were similarly evil, eyes that sprout from the earth, wormy tentacles that act like grass.

Most of the corpses are from an earlier siege, the foolish goblins had decided to invade the fortress underneath, and now they payed the price. Many were raised from death, yet amongst them, amongst the normal undead, were husks.

Husks, as the name implies, refer to their state after being touched by the evil fog. They were undead, yet they had not yet died. Corrupted by magic, they are powerful monsters, retaining the strength they had in their life, and magnified greatly.

It was said that even the demons of the Underworld could swarm a Husk, and the Husk would win. Simple rumours, yet rumours had some basis in reality.

Beneath the earth, beneath the cursed earth, lay the caverns. These caverns were huge, and even had their own self-sufficient ecosystem. Gigantic towercaps, mushrooms, plump helmets, and many more. It was certainly a bit better than above.

A bit.

Within the caverns, within the spaces beneath the earth, a monster roamed. This was a beast amongst beasts, a monster amongst monsters. Their true names had been forgotten, for they had roamed the world for far longer than any empire or tribe, and only they knew what to call themselves.

Yet the dwarves knew what to call him.

Båx.

Nightmare.

A twisted mockery of the human form, with fifteen arms and thirteen heads. It had no eyes, no nose, and it's singular mouth would intone the name of everyone it meets.

It was surrounded by a terrible gas, and a single whiff would rot all skin, and longer still would cause necrosis to the whole nervous system.

It was certain death. And it must be taken care of immediately.

Yet deeper still, deeper than the lakes of magma, within than the heart of the earth, lay adamantine. The layer of the mythical metal had been struck, and broken through.

The denizens of Hell had been freed, and they began to kill everyone in sight. Two miners have been struck down, and the third was running as fast as she could to escape their clutches.

She couldn't outrun them. She didn't survive.

All in all, it was a normal day in Slaughterwhips.

I activated the Hell Invasion Alert. The forgotten beast had been taken care by an axe lord named Avuz Tanforests the Everlasting Echoes, who already had 30 kills to his name. After that, the squad was hospitalized, the waste cleaned up by the stoneworkers, and the corpse immediately butchered and the skin tanned. I don't want an undead FB roaming around my fortress.

Meanwhile, the barracks in the Adamantine layer had been closed down, the doors leading to the shortest pathway locked and sealed. Already, the undead was already rising in those layers, and immediately attacked the hellspawn. They died, but remarkably it injured some of them. But it wasn't enough.

The halls leading to the surface was not yet finished, the dwarves working on it had been evacuated. The squadron stationed there was busy training, and had been equipped with the best armour and weapons our smiths could make, adamantine armour and edged weapons, or silver blunt weapons. The material quality was exceptional at the very least.

Of course, before the demons could get into the barracks, they should pass through a long corridor filled with traps made from weapons-grade steel. The cage traps had been layed with giant cave spider web, so that should invalidate their immunity to traps.

I kept up the production in the inhabited layers. One of the nobles had mandated that the red-spinel gems shouldn't be traded outside the fortress. There were no red-spinel items in the fortress, so it was ignored.

The metalsmiths in the magma layers were ordered to increase production of high-quality equipment. The legendary armoursmiths began churning out masterwork equipment left and right. The recently-created adamantine armour set was given to the Queen (whom I suspect was a vampire due to her alcohol withdrawal and her fucking impossible age). She was alone in her Throne Room, which I had elaborately designed and had engraved prior her arrival.

The fucker. That was not supposed to be hers to start with...

The monster slayers in the caverns were freely roaming around, attacking any monster that would come near the central shaft. Other squads were roaming around in the caverns, but for the above-ground monitoring only one squad was guarding that. There was no need, the path to the fortress was heavily booby-trapped, and only had the bare minimum required to fit a trader wagon.

The trade depot was placed inside, a metal drawbridge set up as a gate, and the entrance filled with fortifications. The squad set there never had shifts, they were permanently set up there to guard it.

Anyways, back to the demons. They had passed through the third level, and they would be nearing the squad barracks. The waves of demons had been weakened severely, most of them had been caged and ready to be collected.

I didn't expect for them to be this many, as all the cages in the hallway had been filled.

It was time to deploy the squads.

The demon wave was then busy handling the legendary soldiers. These dwarves had been facing various forgotten beasts, and taken care of the legions of the aboveground undead when they got too many.

These warriors feel no fear, for they no longer cared for anything else. They no longer would feel pain, for their skins had long had rotten, and replaced with adamantine threads.

Each of these men were an equal to any army, and they were many. Each of them recieved their titles after slaying numerous foes. And they fight against the very denizens of Hell itself.

The battle took months, and the long winter had ended by the time the demons died. The casualties were few, the combined forces of three legendary had cleared most of the demons, and only four had died out of the thirty sent out. Still, that was four of my most veteran soldiers. They would be difficult to replace.

I quickly ordered the dwarves to construct a seal on the passage to hell, and then build a tiny outpost at the entrance. It would be a useful addition to this already convoluted fortress, in fact it would be a fine addition to this mad enterprise that was this fortress.

After building the outpost, assigning some posts and furnitures, I paused the game.

Huh... I think it was already boring. There was not much challenge here, even though I had purposedly embarked in a terrifying biome in the middle of fucking nowhere.

I didn't think I'd actually get this far, I didn't expect that this fortress would last this long, and now, after ten years of running, it could be said that this fortress was a sucessful one, setting up a living paradise, a bastion of light in a realm of nightmares, albeit a bit mad and crazy according to saner standards, but beggars can't be choosers now can they?

Anyway, this fortress had grown boring. It was rather uneventful, but I couldn't just let it all collapse to ashes, this fort had too many memories, and letting them just die from natural causes didn't sit well with me, they had rightfully earned their peace.

But... Even then... I still wanted to play... I still wanted to stay in this fortress, to keep playing it, to keep it alive for so long.

Yet even if I wanted to, even if I wanted to play it for so long, my schedule could only strech so far. Work consumed most of my time, with not much time for play. Work was tiring. Work was dull.

Work was too boring. And I had been long sick of it.

I simply wanted to rest. I wanted to just rest and play some games. But I don't have a lot of time. Most of it was spent on tiring work. Even my boss started grating on me, telling me to 'work harder' and then insult me with various words without even explaining what I did wrong. I even overheard some of my coworkers insulting me behind my back, saying things like _'She's an airhead'_ and_'What a bitch'_. And my friends, my _oh-so-truthfully-and-lovingly-your 'friends'_. Those bastards that ditched me, stole my stuff and then claiming innocence afterwards dare proclaim themselves as 'my friends'?

I hated it. I hated it but I needed work, so I kept it all inside me.

It hurts. The real world hurts so much. Things hadn't changed much, even in the adult world.

I want to play. I just want to play games forever. If only I could, if only I could live out my life in a videogame...

At least they wouldn't judge me. At least I'll have some fun.

_Stop being childish. Be realistic._

I know that it was a foolish dream. I know it is simply childish, to try and escape from reality into a fantasy, but still.

I just wanted to have fun.

I pressed escape. The simple game menu appeared on the screen. There were a few options present, to either save this game for later use, to retire it, to abandon the settlement, or to keep playing. Abandoning it was rejected, This fortress was far too sucessful for that. I want to keep playing, but a part of me felt too dull to continue. I needed adventure, I needed some fun. And this fortress was far too uneventful for that.

I chose to retire the fort. Playing it even more had no more merit, and I could still return to it when I wanted to.

Plus, I wanted to play adventure mode. Once the main menu appeared, I pressed 'Start Playing' option and made a new adventurer. Her name was Minkot Faithbalanced, a lasher/poet set up in Slaughterwhips. It took a while for me to customize her personality and stuff. I am simply just in awe of how complex and detailed Dwarf Fortress is, even adding ethics and personality for each and every historical actor.

I then pressed enter, thus starting the game.

Suddenly, I was assaulted by a feeling of unease all over my body. I shiver then shot up my spine, while my skin felt as if someone was carressing all over them while a sticky tar-like substance wrapped over my body and was slowly being peeled off.

And then, the world went black, and damp, and silent.

§

I woke up, feeling rather gross and dizzy. My head was swimming, and I wiped off the spit that had been pouring out my mouth.

My mouth tasted bad, and my nose was filled with various bad odours. But somehow, they smelled rather familiar, and slowly, the revolting feeling that came with them faded away.

_What...happened?_

The last thing I remembered was making my adventurer on Dwarf Fortress, and then starting the game, anything after that was simply blurry.

It was currently dark in here, my eyes were still quite unused to it.

Was there a brownout? Did I somehow pass out when that happened?

I began chewing my lips in frustration, this was supposed to be a really fun break from the office and then this happened. Great, and now I felt somewhat thristy.

I need a drink.

I need a drink?

_Wha-?_

I scratched my head, clearly I was already becoming rather addicted to the game. I need to sleep, and then wake up early for tommorow. I wouldn't want my boss grating on me again if I come in late.

I stood up, and felt rather itchy. My clothing felt rough, and I could feel something hard all over my body when I moved.

What's this?

It was armour, specifically steel breastplates and mail. Beneath them I could feel something rough and baggy, I could tell it was made from rope reed.

Wait, what? What the fuck? **What the fuck?!**

I had a bag hanging at my back, and I remembered it's contents well. A large dagger made from copper, some lungfish meat, and a goose-leather waterskin that was filled to the brim with water. Strapped on my waist was a metal scourge made from silver, and a shield made from steel.

_The fuck is happening?_

Waitwait, calm down! Calm down! Everything has an explanation, and panicking would do no good! S-so calm down! Calm! **Down!**

_Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. Deep breaths. Deep breaths._

I was able to calm the pounding of my chest.

Once I calmed down, I quickly assesed the situation. This armour, this get-up, it felt awfully familiar.

It was the load-out of a standard adventurer in Dwarf Fortress.

S-shit! Shit! D-did I get transported into the game?! Like in those cheesy light novels?!

F-fuck! I'm gonna fucking die!

Okay, okay, okay! Calm! The fuck! **Down!**

**I! Am! Not! Calm! Dammit!**

Shut up! Keep a hold of yourself!

I slap myself hard enough, and I felt as if my right cheek was bruised.

OW! What the heck?! M-my strikes were that strong?!

Hookay, okay okay.. Let's try calming myself down. Okay, okay. Let's try doing simple things, like remembering my name.

Okay, okay... My name is Minkot Faithbalanced, aged seventy-three, and loyal hearthperson of Queen Urist Empirelances wait-wait what the fuck! What in the actual fuck!

Not calm! **NOT CALM!**

Okay, deep breaths! _Deep breaths. Deep... Breaths..._

Nothing good will happen if I keep on panicking, so I must calm myself down.

After a few minutes of sitting on my chair and controlling my breath, I managed to get calm enough to assess the situation.

First off, I think I'm inside the body of the adventure I've made earlier, i.e. Minkot Faithbalanced. Since I just recently made her (and my adventurers usually follow a template that is totally and absolutely not based on my self-insert fantasies) I could remember the stats that I placed into the character.

Wait, if I am Minkot Faithbalanced, and I got her attributes, then doesn't that mean I would also get the dumped stats? Iffy memory and patience, _h-horrible..._

A-anyways, let's go inspect that later on. I-I don't want to know it yet. S-so let's move on!

Second, I could see in the dark. Well, at least that's an improvement from my former(?) life. I was already partially blind in my teens, so I had to wear glasses. And even in the absolute darkness, I could see the place as clearly as day.

Amazing. Simply amazing.

Second, I felt as if I was healthier and far more stronger than I was before. I mean, I've got huge muscles and shit. But I'd rather want a slimmer figure though... Still, beggars can't be choosers, even if I didn't beg.

Eughhh... piss poor memory and patience...

Third, I could somewhat gauge my attributes. As though I could still access the adventurer menus, except it was somewhat more abstract, but easily understood. It was difficult to describe it in words, but it felt rather natural, as if it was already a part of myself.

So, with that in place, let's try to remember, just where the hell am-wait.

I started with an adventurer in one of my fortresses. The most recent one what **HOLY CRAP!**

**NO! ****NO!** I did say that I wanted to get into that fortress but that was just a foolish dream! An unrealistic escapist fantasy! And I'm stuck here! In one of the most terrifying fortresses known to the Fatal Empires? A fortress inside one of the most terrifying biomes, surrounded by a couple goblin civs and then a fucking necro tower from behind!

Though it shocks me to say this, but it seems that I am stuck here in Slaughterwhips.

If there is any god out there, I beg of you, please save my soul!

Ah... wait... shit, shit, Shit, **SHIT!** **FUCK! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU ARMOK! FUCK YOU AND YOUR FUCKING TORTURE FETISH!**

§

Current Date: 5th of Granite, 1083 (Early Spring), Age of Myth

Minkot, Tabarneth, "Minkot Faithbalanced", Lasher

Dwarf, , Demigod

Background: She is a newly-minted hearthperson of the great Urist Empirelances in Slaughterwhips, a dwarven fortress. She is a faithful worshipper of Sákrith the Terrible Spurts, the dwarven god of discipline, nightmares, the night and the stars

Description: Her straight hair is extremely long. She has bulky muscles on a large body. Her somewhat short ears are flat. Her short nose is extremely narrow. She has a narrow chin. Her head is extremely tall. Her lips are thin. Her eyelashes are short. Her hair is auburn with a touch of gray. Her skin is ecru. Her eyes are emerald.

Attributes:

Superior Strength  
Superior Agility  
High Toughness  
High Endurance  
Averange Recuperation  
Average Analytical Ability  
Average Focus  
Above Average Willpower  
Average Creativity  
Above Average Intuition  
Very Low Patience  
Low Memory  
Average Linguistic Ability  
Average Spatial Sense  
Very Low Musicality  
Above Average Kinesthetic Sense  
Very Low Empathy  
Average Social Awareness

Skills:

Competent Lasher  
Competent Fighter  
Skilled Observer  
Novice Swimmer  
Novice Climber  
Novice Ambusher  
Novice Tracker  
Novice Shield User  
Novice Armour User  
Novice Dodger  
Adequate Wrestler  
Adequate Striker  
Novice Misc. Object User  
Novice Reader  
Novice Wordsmith  
Novice Writer  
Novice Poet  
Novice Persuader  
Novice Flatterer  
Novice Judge of Intent

Poetic Forms:

Novice The Page of Scribing  
Novice The Visionary Silkiness  
Novice The Knower of Poets

Personality:

She personally views any show of emotion as offensive, believes that self-mastery and the denial of impulses are of the highest ideals, finds the quest for knowledge to be pf the very highest value, holds well-laid plans and shrewd deceptions in the highest regard, would just soon have nature and the great outdoors burned to ashes and converted into a great mining pit, greatly respects those that observe decorum and maintain their dignity, thinks friendship is important, sees competition as reasonably important, respects perserverance, values good craftsdwarfship, finds blind honesty foolish, finds artworks boring, doesn't respect a society that settled into harmony without debate and strife, sees merrymaking as a waste, sees sacrifice as wasteful and foolish, finds leisure time wasteful, sees war as a useful means to an end, sees life as unfair and doesn't mind it that way and does not care about family one way or another. She dreams of making a great discovery.

She never envies others their status, situation or possessions. She is impervious to the effects of stress. She exhibits a refined politeness and is determined to keep the guiding rules of etiquette and decorum as if life itself depended on it. She is deliberately cruel to those unfortunate enough to be subject to her sadism. She is obsessed with details and will often take a great deal of extra tme to make sure things are done the right way. She is obsessed with order and structure in her own life, with everything kept in it's proper place. She is very slow to anger. She rarely looks on others with lust. She desires little for herself in the way of possesions. She only rarely feels strong cravings or urges. She is stingu with resources on projects and refuses to expend any extra effort. She is very friendly and always tries to say nice things to others, and she is conflicted by her nature since she would ideally prepfer more strife in her life. She is very ambitious, always looking for a way to better her situation. She has little time for forgiveness and will generally seek retribution. She can be very single-minded. She is a pessimist. She is very curious, sometimes to her detriment. She has a strong tendency toward privacy. She forms only fleeting and rare emotional bonds with others. She does not generally respond to emotional appeals. She has a strong sense of duty. She can get caught up with internal deliberatins when action is necessary. She does not trust others. She has an overbearing personality. She has a calm demanour. She does not easily fall in love and rarely develops positive sentiments. She is quick to form negative views about things. She is rarely happy or enthusiastic. She tends to avoid any physical confrontations, and she works to square this natural tendency with her respect of martial prowess. She is stubborn. She doesn't mind a little tumult and discord in day-to-day living. She tends to ask others for help with difficult situations. She is brave in the face of imminent danger. She sometimes acts with little determination and confidence. She is not inherently proud of her talents and accomplishments. She is grateful when others help her out and tries to return favors. She prefers to present herself modestly. She has little interest in joking around. She is very humble. She tends to consider what others think of her. She doesn't cling tightly to ideas and is open to changing her mind. She is quite comfortable with others that have a different appearance or culture. She tends to avoid crowds. She likes to take it easy. She doesn't seek out exicitement. She has an active imaginination. She likes to keep things practical, without delving too deeply into the abstact. She does not have a great aesthetic sensitivity.

Like others in her culture, she has a great deal of respect for the law, greatly prizes loyalty, really respects those that take time to master a skill, deeply respects those that work hard at their labours, values cooperation, values martial prowess and respects commerce.

Needs:

Cause trouble - Moderate Need  
Help somebody - Slight Need  
Craft object - Slight Need  
Martial training - Slight Need  
Learn something - Strong Need  
Stay occupied - Moderate Need  
Be with friends - Slight Need  
Practice Skill - Slight Need

§

**A/N: This chapter would have been longer, if it weren't for the long-ass description. Yes. It's the actual description of a dwarf in Dwarf Fortress. Fully customized in-fact, so longer. This is Minkot's personality, but expect it to change because of the fusing of both her original personality and her DF personality.**

**I wonder what would happen if I brought over all the mechanics in the game and then play it as straight as possible in Overlord. I might have to interpret it liberally though, as that also happened to YGGDRASSIL's own game mechanics, though YGGDRASSIL has it's own lore and compared to DF it is less complex in terms of game mechanics. But it's still quite confusing so I am asking for some input here. Pls halp.**

**EDIT: Spelling and Date Changes.**


	3. Chapter 2: Roaming Around

**5th of Granite, 1083**

Fuck.

I didn't think this through.

If I am in Slaughterwhips, then I am fucking boned.

Just..._ fuck..._

Calm yourself, I say. Nothing good would come from panicking.

Hoookay. Hookay. Let's calmy look at my situation right now.

I am in Slaughterwhips. Looking at the architecture, I guess I'm one of the various bedrooms I build for the peasa-err commone-folks. Yes. I still remember the placements of the furniture back in the game, but it's quite amazing to see it for real.

So I think I am inside the sixth to eighth z-level, inside the civilian bunkers. The smoothed rock here looks like it's made from gabbro, so I think I can confirm it.

The door here is exceptional at best, the other furniture were also of similar quality. Excluding the bed, all of them were made from stone. The bed was made out of towercap fungus, which I think is quite strange. I mean, it looks quite weird, but at the same time it doesn't.

Wait, if the game became real, and I became Minkot, does that mean ther the game would still run on game mechanics, or would it actually be... well... real?

If the former, that would be dangerous, but workable. But if the latter, then...

Well shit. I remember earlier, when I punched myself. In the original game, there was no way I could attack myself, so perhaps the latter?

There's too many unknowns, but the game becoming real and running more like real life seems more likely. I must prepare for that.

But the question is, how can I prepare for that? I literally have nothing right now, except for the base equipment and items that adventurers recieve at the start of the game. I have a whip, which I guess would help me. In the game, it was a dangerous weapon because of the way damage was calculated, but if the game became real, would it still work?

I need to test it out. Though, given my current circumstance, it seems that I couldn't do the experimentation, not in the near future, at least, if I were to act completely sane and not attack anybody on sight. It's too much of a hassle.

My stomach was growling, I had been staying inside my room for what, a couple hours now? Locking up myself inside would do no good, so I must go out and explore the fort. I very much want to see all my dwarves and my creations in the flesh (figuratively speaking), and how the place looks like, now that the game became real.

I walked towards the door, and held the door handle, and opened it.

There wasn't really much outside, when I exited my(tentative) room. The hallways were mostly empty, save for a couple bits of dirt and... is that beer?

Without noticing it myself, I started following the trail of beer. I only noticed it when I arrived at the tavern, a few walkways and a couple flights of stairs up.

I could hear some music inside, and it felt strange. I did not recognize it, and at the same time, I did. The music itself was similarly strange, in that I don't know what kind of instrument was used to play it, but it sounds awfully a lot like guitars and drums and... bagpipes?

Of course, I entered the tavern (which I think is named the Brown Cook). It was so full of people, all of them were joyfully listening in to the music. Some of them were singing alone, dancing to the tune. Their mugs tapping the table to the music, and happily chugged their tankards filled to the brim with wine.

I felt a pang of joy as I watched this scene. This tavern was alive, and was bustling with people. They were enjoying, laughing, talking, they were living out their lives within the game I was playing. It was quite difficult to describe it, seeing your very own characters moving and living out their lives. In a way, it made me feel quite warm and fuzzy inside.

But at the same time, I felt unease. There were far too many people in here for me. My natural shamefulness ticked in, and I felt a terrible shiver down my spine. I tried my hardest to not show it on my face, however. It was simply too embarassing.

_Please don't notice me._

_I am slowly walking away from them..._

_I am slowly walking towards the door..._

_I'm slowly opening th-_

"Oh look! It's the Overseer!"

"Sh-The Overseer?!"

Immediately, all eyes were on me.

'D-don't look at me like that!' I scream internally, but for some reason I clamped down my mouth and my face froze stiff.

I heard them say a lot of things, but I ignored them, I was too focused on them seeing me slowly leave the tavern.

They were also frozen stiff, I think it's because I, an unknown dwarf of dubious history, suddenly barged in into their tavern. I didn't want them to notice me, but they already did. It would simply be rude to not say anything when caught. I could hear them say something, but I did not quite catch it, as I was too busy being shocked.

But I was already inching my way towards the door.

_Slowly..._

_Slowly..._

I then faced at them. I mean, just look at their faces! They're clearly angry at me or something!

C'mon, say something! Don't dig yourself even deeper!

"I apologize for intruding your... _er..._ merry-making..."

What the hell! It sounded so bad!

Aieeeee!

Swiftly, I left the premises and walked outside the tavern.

My heart was pounding fast within my (bulky and muscular) chest.

_T-that was scary... I almost e-e-embarassed myself infront of all those people..._

W-well then, let continue exploring around the fortress! I need to find some food after all...

§

I roamed around the fortress.

Since the layout of the fort was already engraved into my mind, I found my way easily into the food stockpile and got some plump helmets and some beer.

Why did I get beer? I don't know, but for some reason I wanted to drink some. And I've got the feeling that if I don't drink this, I would slow down to a crawl.

It tasted rather bitter, though, but it felt good in the throat, however. It's the first time I've drunk wine, at least in real life. I don't know if Minkot in this reality had drunk beer before, but if I were to hazard a guess, I don't think she had. After all, generating a DF adventurer would simply insert that character into the game's history, presumably a month after that. That's simply not enough time to properly insert someone, or perhaps maybe it is?

Anyways, I'm getting sidetracked. I've got food, I've got booze, a full set of armour and a whip. What do I do next? I don't really want to go out, it's too scary outside, on the surface. Undead and nauseating rain of blood, no way. I'm better of staying here underground.

Now that the surface is pretty much barred, could I perhaps travel underground? within the caverns?

No way, there's thousands of monsters and forgotten beasts down there. I don't want to get out. Too dangerous. And I don't even know if I'd return back to reality or actually die here, so I should act that any death here would mean my actual death.

So, what should I do now?

Since there aren't really much problems in the fortress (aside from maintaining the entrance to hell), there's not really much I could do. That said, considering that I did retire the fort, would I still be it's overseer? I did partially remember one of the tavern dwarves calling me Overseer, but that might be just my imagination.

_Wait, Overseer?_

I was walking through the hallways towards the communal dining hall when I was greeted by an unusually familiar-looking dwarf. Somehow, I could recall his face, but at the same time, this was my first time seeing his face, which felt rather odd, to be honest.

"O-Overseer Tabarneth!" he said. His posture immediately became stiff and rigid, his back straight, and his face stoic

Without thinking, I suddenly blurted out; "Salutations, Urdim. Long live the cause."

What the FUCK?! That was so fucking cringy! It's fucking embarassing! I tried freezing my own face so that he won't notice my own embarassment.

Please don't notice me. Please don't notice me. Please don't no-

"Overseer Tabarneth, our squadron from the surface had spotted something strange surrounding our fortress."

_-tice?_

As I hear these words, a switch within me was flipped. Immediately, all unneccessary thoughts ceased and my focus was directed towards the topic.

"Elaborate."

"They reported a surge of undead population on the surface. We do not know the cause, but this is troubling." he said, pausing. "But that is not what troubles the surface squadron, a necromancer siege is not something they would be bothered by."

"And?"

"They speak of the land being filled with skeletal dragons, Overseer ma'am."

"Give me the whole report, Baron Roldethilrom. I want it on my office, immediately."

"Y-yes, Overseer Tabarneth."

Suddenly, the man turned towards me, as if to ask a question or to say something else, but he immediately turned away.

The man-err, dwarf left the premises. When he was out of sight, I breathed a sigh of relief.

What the heck just happened?!

Did I, did I just turn into someone else back then?

S-shit! I have split personality disorder! The fuck?!

B-by the way, ignoring the fact that I might have such mental disorder, who was that dwarf? I remember his name to be Urdim Roldethilrom.

Wait, Urdim Roldethilrom?...

Isn't he, like , the **actual fucking BARON** of this fortress?!

Oh shit. It might turn problematic in the future, sho~ot!

I just fucking ordered around a fucking baron to do paperwork? He's like, a fucking noble!

If it were in the game, I would say 'finally I could order these purple shits to do actual work', but here? Now?

What in the fuck actually happened to me earlier?

§

I immediately headed towards my office. Though I do know the fortress layout, I had not specified an office for myself, and thus I did not know where to go.

But somehow, I wandered to where exactly I was headed to. It was difficult to explain it with simple words, but it's like as if there's some sort of 'string' that enabled me to locate my office even in the absolute darkness.

That strange feeling led me towards the 20th z-level, where most of the nobles are actually placed, and on the western wing. When I was still starting, I designated a separate area for all these places. Most of the rooms placed within the sixth to the eight z-levels were civilians, and had different halls connected to other parts of the fort. They were divided neatly, the craftsmen and smiths were placed closest to the hall connected to the underground stairway deeper in, and the peasants were placed next to the normals hall, were haulers usually stay. These hallways were connected to a militia barracks, where a single guard would stay on guard and pull the lever to lock their designated hall in case of a monster breach. On the commoner housing areas, there were 4 hallways, equating to four soldiers from different squadrons placed on guard. The noble areas, on the other hand, had only one hallway, which leads towards the shelter in case something happens, and the main stairwell, where they would go to work.. Like the commoner housings, there was only one guard in the area.

The purple pricks deserved it.

I wished I simply made it more elaborate.

My office was considerably different compared to my room. This was far more empty and somewhat well-organized? I simply felt rather good, looking at the orderly placement of items. It made me happy.

Anyways, the room is rather spartan in design. It's smoothed, but it's rather small. The items here consisted of a bookcase, some armour and weapon stands, and chests. They were neatly arranged (happy happy), and there were some quires and parchment placed on the containers so that I could write some things.

To be honest, I don't remember assigning this room to somewone named Minkot. I remember one of the seven dwarves being called Minkot, but beyond that I don't remember much.

I then sat on the chair, feeling rather content with myself, and thought about my future. To be blunt, I'm basically trapped here, and to add insult to injury, I, Minkot, am somehow the Overseer despite Minkot Tabarneth not existing before this month of Granite, at least as far as I know.

Maybe the game did become real, and took it into account?

_S-scary..._ The Toady One is _freaking _scary...

I couldn't just leave, I was, or I am the Overseer after all, the guards would prevent me, and the Death World that lies outside this fortress doesn't look appealing either.

And there's just this strange feeling within me that dislikes the notion of leaving the fort.

Wait a minute, didn't I just fucking retire?

How did this Minkot-dwarf became the Overseer? Was it because of my feelings or something? Or is it because magic actually exist and I just don't know it?

Euurrrgghh... _It's so confusing..._

Anyways, when would that Baron actually arrive? He's awfully slow...

Suddenly, the door swings open.

Speak of the devil.

"Greetings Overseer, I have brought the report as written by the scribes." he said.

Beside him was another dwarf, this one heavily equipped with titanium armour and a platinum warhammer.

I-isn't that-

"Greetings Overseer Tabarneth." the hammerdwarf said. "I am the captain of the Standards of Balance, Rimtar Ostartilat the Ruthless Cinders of Ambiguity, at your service."

He raised his arm in the manner of the dwarven salute.

Oh shit. Shit just got whack...


	4. Chapter 3: Reporting to the Queen

**5th of Granite, 1083**

Rimtar Ostartilat the Ruthless Cinders of Ambiguity. Captain of the Standards of Balance. Son of one of the seven founders. The squadron itself was rather fresh, despite being the oldest squad established in the fort. True, they had participated in various battles against the zombies and the undead, but the original Standards took too much casualties, and thus were filled out with many useless pea-free dwarves, until the fort itself was sealed deep into the earth.

The killing hallways built at the entrance, that was built about a year later. It had been difficult, raising the useless paras-children, relying much on two legendary miners to carve out the hallway and use the others for getting metals. After doing that, after a liberal application of traps of exceptional quality and then building a drawbridge made out of platinum and connecting it to a lever on the barracks placed on the entrance, I sent a bunch of peasants with low skill proficiencies (this was a difficult choice, as it would reduce my already low number of haulers) and... well, the rest was history.

The captain of the squadron is a hammer lord, though he is also a legendary marksdwarf. Because of my abysmal population, there had been only three dwarves assigned to that squad, one of which had died in the first zombie siege.

Rimtar held fast, however. He killed, and killed, until he amassed about a hundred notable kills, and hundreds more of other kills.

That's why, that's why I'm asking, what in the seven fucks of hell troubled the shit out of this legendary one-dwarf army?! This dwarf, who could literally smash the everliving (or unliving) shit out of the zombies and necromancers?

"Salutations, Rimtar." I blurt out without me noticing. "I see that you something to report to me?"

"Y-yes.. Overseer." he said. "While Lord Urdim here has the full report of the matter, I could speak about what I saw."

"Hmm..."

Like earlier with the Baron, a flip within me was automatically switched, and every thought and sense focused to this problem.

"Elaborate."

"Of course..."he said. "As I was staying on guard at the barracks earlier, I heard a loud shriek outside the fortress. It was very unlike any scream I've heard of, save perhaps for titans and the forgotten beasts."

"Because we were staying on guard, we did not go out to find it out. It had been a sensible decision at that moment, until the drawbrige collapsed."

C-collapsed?

"The beast entered through the hallway, setting of a lot of traps. While we were readying our arms, the giant beast came into our view, and it was... vile... evil..."

"How so?"

"It was skeletal, and gigantic. As if it was made out of bones from other creatures. It was also shaped like a wyvern, or a dragon with wings, yet what it breathed was not fire, but gas."

Shivers shot down my spine, as I began to think of various monsters that could match his description.

There were none. Not in the wikis nor is it like the FBs or the Titans.

This was something different.

Something new.

"It breathed poison, and nearly all that came near it would suffer from fear, and sometimes, death. Our squadron took five casualties from that alone, a heavy number, before we regained our senses and shot that thing. Our steel bolts seemed to do nothing, until we noticed that it chipped of some of the bone."

Giant undead skeleton wyverns?

"It began attacking the barracks gate, and had opened a breach through it."

Giant undead skeleton wyverns breaching through the second gate?!

"Captain Ostartilat..." I spoke, as I rose up shakily. "Has this...problem...been dealt with?"

"Eee!- We-we have eliminated the skeletal wyvern, Ma'am Overseer." he replied. "Me and what remained of my squad had begun evacuation procedures in case of a surface breach. The entrances to the upper levels have been closed and sealed tight. The battle had been hard, and killed two more of my own dwarves, but I managed to destroy it's neck by bashing it with my crossbow."

This is... very... problematic...

"Baron Roldethilrom, set the Civilian Alert condition throughout the Fort to Upper Layer Breach. Cease all activity within the cavern layers. Excluding the Absolute Sword, call all of the available squadrons in the Queen's Royal Chambers. Make sure they are armed and well-supplied. Send the monster slayers back up too, we will need the extra numbers." I shout.

"We have a lot of work to do."

§

We arrive in the Queen's Royal Chambers. Even though my normal state of mind partially returned, it seems that the Overseer function was still active, and my mind blurred through all possible information and all possible plans and contingencies.

Why did I call it the Overseer Function? I don't know. It seemed rather fitting when I thought of it...

Okay, back to the topic at hand.

First off, the Skeletal Wyvern. What the fuck! What the fuck was that shit?! That ain't a fucking Wyvern, that's already a fucking Skeletal Dragon made out of corpses! It has a fucking breath attack that acts like an instant death syndrome. Because we couldn't recover and autopsy the corpses (I doubt that the dwarves would let me), we could only examine it.

There seems to be nothing wrong with them, except for the fact that they were dead. It was as if they were puppets and their strings had been cut. Of course, soon enough their corpses rose and the squads began to eliminate them and utterly mutilate their corpses.

Since the bridge was still breached, we could not fix it unless the surface undead were eliminated, we opted to sent a squadron to eliminate most of the undead on the sally port and then seal it with walls. The Quivering Silvers and the Steel of Cooperation had been stationed in that area as the masons were quickly covering it with gabbro walls.

It was made thick, so that any building destroyer would be delayed and take more time to penetrate it. Perhaps about three blocks thick? I ordered six blocks thick, just to make sure...

Ordering them to do shit was much more tiring (and more nerve-wracking).

I really wish I could order them like in Fort mode. Please. Dealing with people (dwarves?) is so stressful and tiring.

So anyways, I roamed around the palace. It was far more beautiful than I imagined considering that, well, it was mostly designed in ASCII. The engravings here were masterly made, I almost thought they were greyscale pictures! Like, shit!

I was amazed by it so much that I accidentally wandered into the Queen's Throne Room.

H-honest! I didn't think I'd end up there! I totally wasn't planning on doing so! R-really! I'm not planning to murderify or murderficate her! They weren't even true words! Honest!

But really, as I randomly wandered about, I suddenly hear a voice coming from within the darkness, a voice that sounded haunting, and bewitching...

"Greetingssss, Minkot..." the voice said, it was both sultry, and husky, the vibrations seem to caress my own body as if it were stripped bare. "Care for a cup of tea?"

_Eeeuuurrrghhh... Creepy..._

I looked around, and saw her.

She was sitting on the throne, her long, thin legs folded, her elbow placed on the menacing platinum throne's armrest, and her face resting on her palms. She was wearing some fancy accroutments, the style reminded me of the gothic lolitas of a time long past. It even came with a pale white doll-like face. Her amethyst eyes seem to wash all over me, scrutinizing me, observing me intently. I could even hear her breath from this distance, and then I felt a sensation of coldness all over myself, which made it even creepier.

She was flanked by two large masterwork statues, one of a dwarf hammering a dragon to submission, and of a swordsdwarf standing over a forgotten beast's corpse. Behind them were masterwork engravings, mostly about the Fatal Empires and about Slaughterwhips. Surrounding them, and platinum spikes that was placed around the Queen's throne. But surrounding her, surrounding the enormous courtroom, was magma. The magma was poured from the walls, and it surrrounded them in a perfect circle of heat and death, yet the molten rocks never seem to touch the floor, only passing through the channels that had been dug underneath the palace.

The magmafalls was stretched out throughout the entire chamber, starting from the circular court where the throne was placed in, and ending at the entrance to the throne room. The room itself was large, and long. There is a long hallway that streched out from here towards the Throne itself. There were pillars here, marble pillars, support columns, that reflected the light of the molten earth, filling the whole chamber with a dim, orange light.

My mind was then awash with danger signals, danger signals everywhere. But it was concentrated at a singular point, and that one point was that small, doll-like goth shoujo who looked a lot more like a human loli instead of a dwarf on the throne. Immediately, the Overseer Function was activated and the original personality of Minkot/Overseer took over.

"Salutations, Your Highness." I replied. "Though on any other time I would gladly join you, I am afraid to say that I must humbly decline. Especially now, that there are... problems... that must be dealt with..."

"Ho?" there was a slight pause, before she continued. "I thought you were planning to retire on your duty, but it seems that your expertise are needed once again."

"Of course not, your Highness... My work is never over..."

"Of course it is not..." she mused.

"Anyway..."

The air grew chillier, and the Queen seemed to be smiling even more creepily. Her grin seemed rather... predatory...

"What business do you have here, Overseer Minkot?" she asked, her free hand outstreched, pointing towards me. "All alone... With me in here...?"

Suddenly, a shock ran through my spine. Shit. Shit shit shit shit SHIT! This fucking woman is a fucking vampire! I was right! She is a fucking vampire!

"Rest assured, Your Highness..." I managed to say. "I am here for work. Because of that event earlier on the surface, I need to hold a meeting with all the soldiers in the fortress. Excluding the Absolute Sword, the Steel of Cooperation and the Quivering Silvers, all squadrons and their members will be present. The former will only send one representative, because of the importance of their... duties..."

"Oh?"

She seemed a bit more gloomier now. Just a bit, before her expressionless mask returned.

Suddenly, the doors to the Throne Room opened, and a dwarf appeared from the door.

"Overseer Tabarneth- Your Highness!"

The dwarf immediately assumed a submissive pose, bowing his head, and kneeling down.

"Good to see you, Baron Roldethilrom." the Queen replied. "Rise."

"O-of course, Y-your Highness..."

The Baron then rose, and faced towards me. "Overseer Tabarneth, the squadrons have arrived."

Oh finally! Thank Sákrith that they did or otherwise I'd be fucking dead.

Wait. The fuck? Sákrith is my god now?

You know what, I'll just write it off as part of the 'wooh I became my game character' and shit because it's too stressful just thinking about it. Ignore it.

As I was thinking, five dwarves entered the hall. They were heavily armed, and armoured heavily. Four of them were armoured with adamantite breastplates and steel mails, while the last one wore titanium armour. Surprisingly, their armours were well-kept and well-maintained, despite having a few scratches here and there. The squad members follwed their captain, forming one line for each squad. Since most squads have ten members assigned, and the immense casualties that the Standards of Balance suffered, that two activated squads were stationed to guard the front entrance, and the fact that the Absolute Sword could only be bothered with sending only one soldier, and excluding the Royal Guards, there are about thirty-three soldiers present within the Royal Palace.

"Captain of the Fires of Slaying, Catten Abodlimul the Absolute Severity of Flaying reporting!"

"Captain of the Emerald Watchers, Momuz Beravuz the Gleaming Barrier of Iron, reporting for duty!

"Captain of the Iron Citadels, Fikod Akirdatan the Confusing Machine of Duty, reporting in."

"C-captain of the Standards of Balance, R-Rimtar Ostartilat the Ruthless Cinders of A-Ambiguity, reporting!"

"First Lieutenant of the Absolute Sword, Morul Uzolubbul the Brilliant Diamond of Simplicity, reporting!"

The five of them presented a dwarven salute, and bowed. infront of the Queen.

"I am Minkot Tabarneth, Overseer of the Fortress of Koshbomrek." I say. "Now, let's dispense all pleasantries and get ahead to the business. Captain Rimtar, if you please."

The grungy and weary old captain started to relay the information of the attack to all of us. Since I and the Baron had already heard of it, we only listened to any new information that the captain would add to his report.

"So, you say that you saw a new type of... undead monster attacked the fortress?" asked the Queen.

"It is so, Your Majesty."

"Hmmm..." she muttered. "Have you made sure that the corpse was utterly mangled and mutilated?"

"It was impossible, Your Highness, as the beast itself is composed of dozens of other unrelated skeletons." I replied "We did manage to separate most of the bones from each other, so that means we have an adequate supply of bones for crafts and arrows."

"Ha, as expected of you, Minkot." she commented flatly. "You never fail to make opportunities out of problems."

"I am nothing if not resourceful, Your Highness."

"Back to the topic at hand, Rimtar, do you recognize the beast itself?"

The captain fidgeted. "N-no, Your Majesty. I have never heard of such monster, much less meet it in battle until now. It did not seem like a titan, or even a forgotten beast."

"Is that so? Oh well." Then, the Queen began facing at me. "Minkot, you know what to do."

"Of course, your Highness." I reply.

"Captain Beravuz, Captain Abodlimul, both of your squadrons shall replace the Standards of Balance on guard duty. Captain Akirdatan, your squads shall scout the Middle Layers for any kind of strange activities. In case that something comes, fall back and report to me, do you understand?"

"""We hear and obey, Overseer Tabarneth.""" the three of them say.

"Captain Ostartilat, you must recover and recuperate. Since your squad is almost decimated, you and the remnants of your squad must rest." I say. "You are still allowed to train in the barracks if you want to, but your squad is officially deactivated for now."

"I-I understand, Overseer."

"For now, we do not know the situation on the surface. Because of our current population, we cannot risk any more casualties, so all of you must avoid battles for a long as possible. Until the situation clears, the Civilian Alert condition will be set Upper Breach, understood?"

"Yes, Overseer."

"First Lieutenant Uzolubbul, keep up your vigilance in the lower layers." I say. "If you see anything strange or out of place, report immediately to me. For this fortress, I need information and I do not have information, so gather as much as needed without compromising yourselves, are we clear?"

"Yes, Overseer."

"Dismissed."

§

Haah~ How tiring... Being Overseer is tiring...

I went towards my office in the Noble Layers. Of course, I grabbed a couple of meals from the Pantry area. Since it was located here in the Noble layers, the kitchens were not affected from the Civilian Alert.

Haah~ The lavishly prepared lizard tripe and cow intestines tasted delicious. I didn't think that the cooks could produce these kinds of meals from such ingredients. Really, I have to applaud their skill.

Speaking of skill, does the DF skills still work? I remember there were about 130 of them the last time I checked the wiki... Well, let's see... My skills were: Competent Lasher, Competent Fighter, Skilled Observer, Novice Swimmer, Novice Climber, Novice Ambusher, Novice Tracker, Novice Shield User, Novice Armour User, Novice Dodger, Adequate Wrestler, Adequate Striker, Novice Misc. Object User, Novice Reader, Novice Wordsmith, Novice Writer, Novice Poet, Novice Persuader, Novice Flatterer, and Novice Judge of Intent.

I feel that I could do all those things in real-life, so I didn't fell anything different. Well, except for swimming and the other combat skills.

Back then, back in real life, I was never a good swimmer. I had embarassed myself once in the pool by almost drowning, and that was a kiddy pool! I never went swimming again.

Well, let's try out the poet skills first. Let's see, let's try writing something!

I rummaged around for paper/parchment and some ink. I swear we had a bunch of them from the last successful trading caravan (I seized it, to be honest, after trading), so I am pretty sure we have enough of the stuff.

No worries, I did finish reading the reports, so I have much free time. To be honest though, the prospect of having nothing to do... it feels rather... disturbing... It feels weird, given that I really liked having a lot of free time back on Real Life.

A-anyways, let's start writing-err I mean testing my wordsmith and writer skills!

§

**6th of Granite, 1083**

Well, it seems that I have finished writing the essay. I had intended it to be a short story, but instead it turned out into this:

_Untitled._

_This was a legendary microcline-bound codex._

_This is a microcline-bound codex.  
The written portion consists of a 16 page untitled letter, authored by Minkot Faithbalanced. The work has no particular subject. The writing is reasonably serious. Overall, the prose is passable._

_In the early spring of 1083, Untitled was created in Slaughterwhips by the dwarf Minkot Faithbalanced._

To be honest, I didn't think it was that bad, but then again, it's not that good either. I could somewhat feel that my skill in writer increased, but not in wordsmith. Oh bother...

It did take some time writing the book, and now I feel rather drowsy. Perhaps I should sleep for a few hours.

Wait, how do I sleep though? Think, think, aha!

Maybe I should just go sleep normally. Okay, I wanted to sleep for 5 hours. Remember, 5 hours.

Let's just go sleeping...

_ZZZzzz..._

_zzZZzzZ..._

_zzzZZzZZ..._

_ZzzZzZ..._

"C-***"

_Hu?_

_Eh? Maybe it's nothing..._

Zzzzz...

"Ov***e*r T**a***th!"

_Huh? W-whas dat?_

_Meh, gotta go back to sleep..._

"Overseer Tabarneth!"

H-! I'm awakeI'mawake! **Fuck!**

I immediately rose from my bed. I recognize the face infront of me as from Baron Roldethilrom's.

Wait, the fuck?! How did you enter my office?!

"Overseer Tabarneth, urgent news! We are under siege by the undead! Oh, and a forgotten beast has been reported to appear in the caverns by the monster slayers!"

**FUCK! **Can't I get some nice fucking peace in here now can I?!


	5. Chapter 4: On High Alert

**6th of Granite, 1083**

Olon Abodber readied his well-used silver mace. He ran around the barracks, rummaging for any kind of equipment that was not taken by the other members of his squad. While the Overseer had personally assigned equipment for all of the soldiers in the fortress (she's an absolute control freak), sometimes, the other dwarves would simply take what's best and run with it, equipment assignment be damned.

Not him of course. There was a reason why the Overseer had assigned them uniforms, and he would wear it proudly as a soldier of Koshbomrek.

Civilian clothes at the bottom, followed by a steel chain mail, followed by a breastplate, helm, greaves, high boots, and gauntlets. Of course, he was also equipped with a standard steel shield, and his favourite, an artifact leather cloak. As it did not ruin his overall look (and did not violate the Overseer's uniform code for their squad), he wore it as a way of showing off his status.

But now, he was not in the mood to show off. In fact, they were in a rather dire situation.

A beast had appeared in a caverns. From the reports of the hunters who spotted it, it was a giant humanoid beast with four arms, with body made of flesh. It was also flying, and spewed silky white webs everywhere. .

It was given the name of Egur, for the face it showed them was filled with sorrow, and brought death and depression wherever it went. Olon wondered who in the right mind decided to name the monster as such, but he had no time to question the scout's mental issues.

After the beast's presence was reported to the Overseer, she immediately began issuing orders.

First, his squad, the Iron Citadels, were to withdraw from the caverns. Given the beast's natural ability to spit webs, melee was most definitely a bad idea against it. The Overseer ordered the Steel of Cooperation, a mostly archer squad like the Standards of Balance, was sent to deal with it. However, Olon was ordered to stay in the lever room,

Naturally, after smelling the lure, Egur slowly lumbered towards the prepared chamber, and accidentally stumbled through a monster slayer.

The monster slayer, a human who had not escaped in time, fought the monster, and managed to cripple it with her mace. She did not survive, however, as the beast spewed out silver webs towards the human, encasing her, and trapping her.

He had not heard her scream, or even see her die. They never saw her, but they knew she was already dead.

A few hours later, after the encounter with the monster slayer Egur then ran towards them, following the scent of sheep and blood. Because the monster slayer had brought them enough valuable time, they were able to prepare the trap and evacuate all the civilians in that section of the cavern.

She would not be missed. Never, because her body was missing, and may one day perhaps raid the caverns and causing even more trouble.

Chuckling slightly at his own dark and off-colour joke, Olon waited until the beast entered the chamber, and brought down the lever.

The drawbridge immediately closed, trapping Egur inside. The lone ram within the chamber was then sent away from the area, and all the openings sealed.

All, save perhaps for the fortifications already in place. The Steel of Cooperation had already descended and were readying their crossbows. Armed with platinum crossbow and steel quivers, they would easily kill this multi-armed giant.

It's gonna be a party tonight. 

§

Captain Momuz Beravuz of the Emerald Watchers looked at the hellish sight from the tower.

There were easily thousands of undead outside, far beyond what the squad could handle. However, these undead looked... Different...

While there are normal (or he guessed as normal as an undead corpse can be) zombies out there, others looked rather... uniform. It was quite unnerving, seeing as that it could only mean two things. One, that for some inexplicable reason, a lot of people died and/or somehow became skeletal husks, or two, that there was a necromancer siege. The latter was rather plausible, but considering that they had just recently killed the necromancers living in the nearest tower and looted it for any kind of goods.

And, these were skeletons. Husks were never skeletons, and so were thralls.

Also, he could slightly see some winged dragons outside. That was strange, dragons don't have wings. It would be a nightmare if they do.

Just what the heck was happening outside?

No matter, since the fortress entrance was being sealed by the masons, and the traps were being set again by the mechanics, it shouldn't be a problem to them, or at least that's what the Overseer said.

He still feels rather unnerved by the hordes of undead that could easily wipe out their fortress, but there's nothing he can do about it. He was only here to watch the outside for any further developments.

For a while, there wasn't really much happening aside from some dark and ominous cloud rolling in the distance, and his shift was almost over.

He heard footsteps, some metal clanging, and mail of armor clinking. Ah, it's time for someone else's shift. After exchanging positions and sharing some information, the Captain quickly left.

He descended deep, back into his squad's assigned barracks when he heard some idle chatter.

"Oi, did you hear, the Overseer was planning to dig up some other space for us."

"Wha, really? Again?"

Momuz's ears perked up after hearing this, and listened in to the conversation.

"Yeah, she said that we have to dig up a huge space somewhere to the west, somewhat like a giant reservoir but placed far away from the fortress."

A reservoir? What was the Overseer up to again?

"And?"

"We also have to dig up real deep down the earth, towards the magma sea. I don't really know what she's up to, but I think she's planning to make a magma reservoir or something. The other miners also had some digging duty, hollowing out some land or something like that."

Shit.

"B-but that would take months! With just the two of us!"

"Don't worry boy, we're not alone. Apparently, she was sending some of the masons to dig on the cliffs along with some of the miners. We five will work on the reservoir and the channels. If I'm optimistic, it'll finish off in a month or so."

Suddenly, a third dwarf appeared infront of them. Another miner, Momuz thought.

"Oi, you two, quit slackin' and let's get ta' work."

"Yes Captain!"

The miners quickly scurried off to work.

Momuz sighed. Perhaps the Overseer was also tired of all this work? Maybe... But, maybe not. Considering that after a few hours of retirement the Overseer quickly got back to work as if nothing happened, it was pretty safe to say that working is pretty much her leisure time, no matter how many times she denied it.

Still, digging up a magma reservoir towards the surface, just what the hell was she-Oh no...

She's not planning to flood the surface with magma, isn't she?! 

§

**7th of Granite, 1083**

_Haa~h~_

_Haa~h~~_

Being Overseer was tiring. Even though the Overseer Function took over me, it was still rather tiring to do all that work.

First, I ordered the Quivering Silvers to pull out the area. Now that I could talk to them instead of ordering them directly from the screen, it took a bit longer, but at least they listened to me instead of charging directly at the forgotten beast like bunch of alcholic and beared psychopaths.

Oh wait, they ARE alcoholic and bearded psychopaths. Nevermind then.

After that, I ordered the Steel of Cooperation to get down here and kill the beast. There was no use for it's webs, we had like, a couple of of them doing the same thing and some giant cave spider silk farms. Plus, FB silk is bad. It's cheap. It's fucking cheap. Even if it's badass (it probably was not), it'll probably just end up being atomized or thrown towards the magma.

Where was I, oh yes! After that, I ordered the Emerald Watchers to, well, watch the surface from the tower that had been constructed a long time ago. Since the masons were already doing a fine job with the walls and shit, I ordered some of them to dig up some holes and pumps at the hills near the fort.

I should have done this a long time ago.

Anyways, I recieved a report coming from Captain Beravuz of the Emerald Watchers that there were, like, a thousand fucking undead monsters just outside. What the fuck? Did some war happen just outside us? I mean, sure, I couldn't see outside the site when I was still playing this game, but, really now? I don't think that DF wars would take up thousands of combatants. Mostly it's just a hundred humans against, like, 10 or 20 so elves in a forest retreat because of disagreements with the treatment of plants or something like that. But this?

This is bad. Really, really bad.

As far as she knew, there were no wars that took place near the fortress. Invasions, maybe but they were either goblins or elves. We were also invaded by the gobs earlier, but then the captain said that most of those corpses were from humans, armed with strange weapons and armour of unknown design or make. From what the captain said, the corpses did not seem familiar. Not from any nearby human civ, or any civ.

This is really bad. Really, really, REALLY **BAD**.

Also, during the report, he was giving me some rather strange glaces. What? Was I that pretty? Eh, just kidding. I know that I don't look that good. Even my real-life face was quite beautiful compared to this...

But hey, at least the hair is nice...

_Maybe..._

Back to the topic at hand, I ordered the dwarves to do stuff. The hunters and the monster slayers were ordered to get back, but for some reason the latter don't do as I say.

What are they, Slayers? Most of them aren't even dwarves! Or looking for suicide so at least listen to me okay?! it's for your own good.

But today, I think I want to relax.

"Overseer, the masterwork set of armour is complete."

I was notified by one of the master smiths in the industrial levels.

"Good." I say to her.

I really don't want to die, so I gotta wear some armour and shit. Blocking something with a shield could only go so far, and I'm not really keen on blocking an attack with a piece of wood.

Plus, I have a feeling that I'd need it soon... Like, real soon.

The master smith led me towards the magma forges. I just noticed that it was actually rather hot in here. How the heck to they withstand this?!

Nevermind. I feel like it'll just give me some unwanted headaches, so I'll ignore it.

The smith, whom I remember was actually named Udil, handed the set of armour towards me. It was forged to my specifications, sleek, durable, and most of all, austere. It doesn't have a lot of those fancy decorations that they usually put on masterwork armour. I mean, yes, it looks a bit ceremonial, but hey, at least it doesn't look like goblin bait like most other dwarves have.

And at least none of them had the idea to sneak in arsenic parts.

They did recoil in surprise when I told them that I'd like to have some really good armour functional armour. I might not yet delve into combat, but might as well be ready for it. As they say, it's better to be safe than sorry.

A few hours after that, I headed into one of the barracks, I think it's the barracks of the Fires of Slaying?

Ah, they looked surprised that I was pres-**Holy SHIT!**

By body froze, as if my joints were locked and my muscles would not obey me.

Quick! QUICK! MOVE DAMN IT THERE ARE PEOPLE! **AAAAAAHHH THERE TOO MANY OF THEM GETMEOUTTA HERE!**

"O-Overseer!"

Suddenly, all the eyes in the room were locked at me.

AIEEE! PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT ME!

P-PLEASE DON'T LOOK AT ME! AIIEEEEE!

I forgot, I FORGOT! I'm still bad at dealing with people!

"O-Overseer, h-how c-can we be of service to you..?"

Uhhhh...

Errrrr...

Ehhhhh...!

I-I-I! D-d-don't! k-k-know how! to sp-sp-speak to-to-to p-p-p-peop-ple!

Please, to any god out there, help me! Not you Armok! Not you!

Activate dammnit! Why won't you activate when I needed it to?! What kind of shitty excuse do you need so that you could just activate! You're leaving me to the wolves here!

What should I do, what should I do?!

Ah! That's right! That's right!

"Captain Catten Abodlimul." I said to their captain, trying not to make my anxiety show. "Allow me to join in your.. t.. training..."

Was that a pause?! I almost stuttered there! No, wait, I did sutter! Did-did they notice?!

Did they fucking notice it?!

Did they?! I'd fucking kill them if they did!

Wait.

_What?_

Did I just say I'd kill them?

_Huh?_

Wait, no. I'm the Overseer. I shouldn't let that silly thing to trouble me. Ignore that.

The captain looked at me with that strange face of hers. Is she mocking me? Is she?

Maybe I should kill her, as an example...

No, stop that. If I kill her then I'd lose another soldier, a veteran no less. It would be a waste if I do that, so let's avoid doing that, okay? Okay?!

"O-of course, Overseer." she replied.

HA! You stuttered too! I'm not the only one! Hahaha!

Wait, they're still here... My agoraphobia has diminished a bit because of her stuttering, but it's still there.

I-I must take off my mind that. I need training. I need to be able to defend myself. Even if I am a master of fighting (lol), I still need to increase my stats and skill proficiency. I can't do that here, after all, I can't just wrestle every tame animal here and not risk breaking the already self-sustaining agricultural system in this fort (lol).

But seriously, if I do that then I guess it'll be okay to let the zombies in and kill us all. So I'd rather avoid doing that.

Anyways, I talked with the captain, and planned out the schedules. It was quite amazing, she was even better than me in arranging schedules. Honestly, I should appoint her as a noble or something. Maybe I should invent a new title. Scheduler, maybe? Adviser?

Because she said that they should be busy training, I left. After all, I still have other things to do, like assigning jobs and shit. I'm definitely not making up excuses so that I'd avoid people. I definitely was not.

...

...

I should probably ramp up the fortresses' weapons and armour production, maybe also conscript more useless migr-unemployed workers. Could I also force children to work? Can I?

Wait, that'll be bad, the government would stop me. It would be illegal, and I'd be arrested for illegal employment. Really, that would be bad...

Bah, I'm the Overseer. I RUN THIS FUCKING FORTRESS! MY WORD IS LAW! OBEY! I AM BIG BROTHER! AHAHAHAHAHAhahahahahahaaaa...

Shouldn't it be Big Sister? It sounds weird though, like it was on some kind of ecchi anime or something. Maybe I should go for Big Momma? Nah, sounds wrong. It reminds me of that movie where a black FBI huy wears a fat suit and goes undercover as a big black woman.

Maybe I should be called the Overseer? Maybe that would work. They are already calling me that, so maybe I should let them...?

Anyways, I should probably go to work. I hate it, but then again I have to...

And for some reason, I like it...

The fuck is wrong with me... 

§

**11th of Granite, 1083**

Catten Abodlimul, captain of the Fires of Slaying, was quivering in her boots.

It was time.

She readied herself, and tried not to shiver in fear.

The Overseer was coming.

For some unknowable reason, the Overseer asked her for training. Whatever that reason was, Catten knew that she should be as presentable as she could be. That's why she had been polishing her armour, sharpening her swords, and got intense with her training.

It got to the point where even her squadmembers got genuinely scared of her.

She stood up, and took her weapons.

She must take it seriously. There's no more joking around, not around the Overseer. Especially not in the presence of the Overseer.

She walked towards the door of the squad's designated training room, when...

"Captain Abodlimul."

She saw the Overseer standing infront of the door, covered from head to toe in a dark, sleek armour. The suit of armour she wore was predominantly black in colour, but it had gold linings in some areas. The presence she exuded was simply oppressive, the armour itself was menacing despite it's simplicity.

Elegant, yet intimidating. She did not usually associate the former with the Overseer, but the latter fit her in totality.

"Shall we begin training?"

This woman was far more terrifying than any of the Forgotten Beast, far more than even the foulest Demon in the Underworld.

She was the merciless monster that prioritizes the existence of the Fortress more than any other. She was the beast which supervised the construction of the Fortress, and the colonization of both this hellhole and the literal one underneath them. Without regards for things like emotions and feelings, she had ordered their very best to expose themselves to necrotizing gas to strip them off their skins, and sew adamantine strands directly to their rotten flesh to simply improve their chances of living.

She was the Overseer of Koshbomrek. The very embodiment of 'Slaughterwhips'.

And she was very well afraid of what this cruel person had in mind. 

§

**20th of Granite, 1083**

Well, the training was difficult, but thanks to my skills I somewhat managed.

But good Lord, that was exhausting. By Sákrith, I did not know that real soldiers fought like that. I have to carry all the armour and move in it. While my ability to move is not really restricted, the weight does wear me down. Also, wielding a whip was hard! It was difficult to hit enemies with it at first, but slowly I got accustomed to it. My respect for them just increased a hundredfold. Now I should really allocate a lot of our resources to keeping the soldiers in high spirits. Lots of free beer for the heroes, yay!

Also, I've been anonymously gathering the opinions of the inhabitants of the fortress inhabitants on the Overseer (me). I'm doing this to find out their opinions and whether or not are they liable on turning on me and revolt. I am not totally not doing this for personal gain or any such things whatsover after overhearing that I almost drove my sparring partner to overwork. No, really!

Ahem, anyway... I just found out that they like me.

Not really!

From what I could gather, they're scared shitless of me.

What the fuck? They're scared shitless of me? No way, I'm scared shitless of them! The fuck?

Yep, I'm sure it's the face. I'm sure that's the reason, though if they remember what I did while playing the 'game'...

Nope, it's just the face. It's totally not because of my oppressive and heavy-handed rule. Nope, it's because of the face.

Muu...

I should really wear the armour more often.

It's really nice and all, the nethercap underarmour really does make the suit more comfortable. While the sensation of ice-cold mushroom on my skin still makes me feel rather gross, at least it's better than having it really hot.

Yep, I should advise the carpenters to make nethercap underarmour, and maybe also order the clothiers to weave nethercap clothing. It should work, I think.

Suddenly, someone barged through the door. It's purple, maybe a noble. He's tired and he's sweating a lot. Y'know, you should work out more. It's not like you're gonna die if you do that.

"Overseer! The undead are massing towards the entrance, and they are attacking us!"

Suddenly, I froze. Unimportant thoughts were promptly overridden, and a singular thought emerged.

"WHAT?!"

§


	6. Chapter 5: An Audience with the Queen

**21st of Granite, 1083**

It was raining blood again. The winds were blowing hard, scattering the corrupting dust around the plains, and the midnight skies above were covered by the dark, oppressive clouds, clouds that stank of foreboding dread and unimaginable evils. Clouds that corrupt all those who touch the evil dust it scatters loomed ominously in the skies of Koshbomrek, and the howls of countless dead thundered throughout the blood-soaked plains.

The undead horde marched towards the fortress, stomping, crushing the eyeball-plants and worm-like weeds that grew on the blood-stained fields. They numbered to a thousand, monsters brought to life by twisted magics, spawning forth from the land that stank of death and misery. Their eyes were full of spite and hatred for the living, seeking only death to those who draw breath.

Quickly, the Fortress Guards began scrambling to their formations in the Hallways of the fortress proper. The members of both the Fires of Slaying and the Emerald Watchers, along with some of the Monster Slayers readied their weapons, and prepared for the inevitable.

The Eternal Queen of The Fatal Empires, covered from head to toe in masterwork adamantine armour, stood in front of the squads, much to the shock and surprise of all the citizens of the fortress. She had never been in the frontlines before, and many of the soldiers in the fort had tried to stop her, before she glinted at them with her terrible amethyst eyes, and they conceded. She was flanked by her Royal Guardsmen, the members are which are said to be either vampires or necromancers, monsters in their own right.

The Eternal Queen held a giant black maul in her right hand, which rumours said to have been carved from the very stone which the demons used to craft their accursed castles. Of course, none dared to ask her whether those rumours were true or not, they simply did not want to be the victim of her murderous sadism, or her cruel hammer.

Behind them, behind the lines of soldiers and mercenaries, stood the Overseer of Slaughterwhips. She was covered in head to toe in black titanium armour, one custom-built to her own desires, and on her belt was her whip, a weapon that was the namesake of their Fortress.

She stood there as the overall commander of the forces. They had no doubt in her ability, her excellence in the matters of running the fortress, but they feared her more than they feared the enemy. They feared her more than they feared the undead army.

After all, why would mere undead faze them if they had fought of the literal army of the Underworld itself? Why would they fear the undead if they conquered a land of death?

Suddenly, from outside the fortress, they heard the earth rumble, and felt the temperature in the hallways increase noticeably.

They knew what it meant. It had been no secret to them, the miners had been prattling about it while they headed to the surface to complete their project, they simply couldn't keep their mouths shut when it comes to large projects such as these.

"Oi Minkot!" cried out the eternally youthful Queen, a rare outburst that shattered her aura of elegance. "You didn't tell you about the magma!"

The Overseer simply glared at her, and replied. "I have outlined this project for almost a month now, Your Majesty, though it still far from complete. We still did not meet the pump production quota, and the miners still haven't dug out the Eastern section of the magma chambers."

"Then why the hell are we here? Is this whole army here for naught?" asked the ever-annoyed Queen, collecting herself from her earlier outburst. Her face was still visibly disturbed of the thought.

"Your Majesty, it is because the project is incomplete that we have to defend our own fortress here. No doubt that there are still monsters outside that survived the magma flood. I have sent orders to the gatesdwarves to open the fortress entrance so that we could quickly deal with this problem." answered the Overseer.

"You mean we have to charge towards the enemies?" the ever-amused Queen looked at the Overseer, a bit surprised. "I did not expect you to have that sort of pride in you.

"No, Your Majesty. That is not the plan." the Overseer rebuked her. "The Fortress traps will take care those who survive the magma attack."

"So why are we all here then?" the Queen looked at the Overseer, supremely annoyed of her responses.

"To take care of the stragglers who survived the traps." the Overseer answered. "Once the lava flooding have reached a sufficient level, and once all the traps have been activated, it is then we will march down to kill the beasts that assault our fortress."

The Eternal Queen sighed, and grumbled. "So much for my preparatory speech..."

Suddenly, the earth shook in a rhythmic pattern, a faint booming noise could be heard from above them. The Queen's eyes sharpened, her grip on the hammer tightened.

"They are coming." spoke the Overseer. "Prepare yourselves."

Quickly, the dwarves formed lines, and assumed battle positions. The Steels of Cooperation were at the back of the line, their archers drawing their deadly bows, ready to fire. The Emerald Watchers stood guard in the frontlines, along with the various monster hunters that had been forcefully volunteered to defend their Fortress, and the re-strengthened Standards of Balance.

The Royal Guard, ever-faithful to their monarch, surrounded the Eternal Queen. No harm must come to their monarch, not even a single strand of hair must be touched by the filth of the outside realm.

The Overseer, meanwhile, walked towards the front-lines. She did not turn her head to face towards her troops. She did not face the soldiers she would lead into battle. She did not draw her whip, and she did not make a speech infront of the warriors who were to face the battle.

Yet her presence was terrifying. They feared her more than they feared anything else. The Overseer would only giver her commands, and it will be followed, no matter what.

"Draw your weapons." The Overseer spoke, and the dwarves drew their swords.

The undead horde drew nearer, the screech of the unliving resounded throughout the halls. Footsteps followed, and an army of the dead marched to match theirs. Many of them were familiar, they were mostly composed of the bodies of dead goblins and elves that littered the outskirts of their fort.

Yet some were different. Many of them looked more like Men, who rarely visited the fortress, and many of them wore armour of leather and steel. In their hands were weapons that looked old, weapons of steel and iron that seemed to rust in age.

There were also giants within their horde, towering monstrousities that were equipped with ornate steel. Their swords were as tall as the tallest dwarf, and their enormous metal shields twice as large. Their numbers dwarfed their own, and yet there never seemed to be an end to them.

But it won't be enough to conquer their fortress.

"March." ordered the Overseer, and the dwarves began to march in unison. The soldiers mowed down the weaker zombies, crushing their bones, smashing their heads and chests. The Standards of Balance, who were re-equipped with hammers than the crossbows they were used to, pounded their opponents into fine dust, and made sure that what remained of their bodies will not rise again.

One of the Giants charged towards the army, smashing it's enormous blade towards unlucky dwarves, cutting down their limbs and their torsos. And as soon as they died, their bodies began to move again.

"The giants are raising the dead!" shouted one of the dwarves.

"I-Impossible!" cried another. "It would normally take hours for corpses to rise. Not immediately!"

But the Standards of Balance charged towards the giant, and one of them smashed one of its legs. The giant noticed this, and swung it's sword towards them. But it was blocked. As powerful as this giant is, they were not as strong as the Forgotten Beasts.

"Hold still, beast!" shouted the captain of the Standards as he rushed towards the monster, and then smashed his hammer to the giant's chest.

The giant was thrown aback by the force of the dwarf's attack, and staggered. Rimtar then quickly used this to his advantage, and swung his hammer once more. In response, the undead giant quickly raised it's shield to protect itself, but the shield was warped under the force of the swing. Rimtar kept swinging his hammer, and slowly broke the monster's shield.

Meanwhile, the monster hunters began tearing down the waves of undead zombies. With the weapons they have in hand, they smashed and crushed their opposition, but there seemed to be no end to them. They were getting tired, yet there were still many of the damned undead.

"Squad C, Retreat." ordered the Overseer in a tone that was as calm as ever, her voice booming throughout battlefield. "Squad D, cover Squad C."

The conscripted monster hunters squad retreated back, as they were being replaced by the other squadron. They held the line, making sure that the undead will not pass.

One of the undead began to charge towards the Overseer, but they were quickly taken down with a swing of her whip. Their skulls had been shattered with her strikes, and her whip crackled.

On the other side of the battlefield, the Eternal Queen looked at the sight of battle, visibly bored as she took the role of the observer. Her Royal Guard did not allow her to participate the battle, and even if she ordered it, they would not budge.

The archers from the Steel of Cooperation let loose of their arrows, targeting any undead that got near the monster hunter squads. They covered the various warriors that fought against undead, and targeting the weaker undead to cull their numbers.

"Captain!" shouted one of the archers. "There's no end to them!"

"Silence, fool!" chastised their Captain. "Are you not used to fighting the undead?!"

"But Captain, they keep on coming back alive!" the archer spoke back.

The Captain fired three shots, killing three of the undead creeping near the Overseer. "They're undead, what do you bloody expect?!"

The archer then simply kept his mouth shut, unable to retort the Captain without sounding like an idiot.

Meanwhile, Rimtar continued fighting the undead giant. With the giant's shield shattered, it threw the shield towards Rimtar, who had dodged it quite easily. But as the Captain of the Standards dodged the shield, the undead giant rammed him, and threw him towards the wall.

Rimtar grunted, his armour protected him from most of the damage, but it was still rather painful being smashed towards a stone wall. He shook himself awake, and then charged back into the fray. There, the giants stood, fighting many of the dwarves. They killed many, and raised them from the dead. They fought the soldiers of the Fires of Slaying, soldiers who were far more trained with dealing with monsters from the depth of the caverns. For them, killing zombies was a task far more easier than their regular job.

The Captain of the Fires of Slaying, Catten Abodlimul, had challenged two of the giants herself, and brought them down by chopping off their heads with her sword. Their skulls were then crushed beneath her mighty boots, stomping on them with fury Rimtar had never seen before.

Damn, she was making it look easier than it looks.

Rimtar spotted another of those giant zombies, and charged towards it. He raised his warhammer and swung it towards the giant. It connected with it's shield, but it was thrown aback, and it fell on it's feet. He used it as an advantage, and quickly swung his warhammer on the giant's head. He repeatedly smashed his warhammer, until nothing but gore remained. His arms felt numb, he couldn't even feel his fingers anymore, but he looked for another target.

After all, he couldn't let the captain of the other squadron outdo him, could he?

As the Eternal Queen of the Fatal Empires observed all this, she felt a bit of boredom, perhaps also a bit of envy too. Her Royal Guard would kill any monster that would come near her, they wouldn't even let her even a single zombie. While she could commend their loyalty to her, sometime, they were just a bit too... loyal...

She sighed. Even Minkot looked like she was having fun whipping all those zombies, and somehow she managed to break their bones with them. The Eternal Queen wasn't sure how Minkot had done it, or just what kind of whip she was using, but she thought it was quite interesting.

If only the Guard would allow her to get a tiny bit closer, perhaps get a better view of things, but even then, they would not budge, not even a single bit. And while sure, she could just simply force her way through them, they had earned her respect, and they respected her in return. She could not simply just push them away, as that would be against her principles, and it would go against her pride to do so.

One of her Royal Guards moved, and had slain one of the giants without much effort. She almost forgot just how strong her Guards were, that one time, even a single one of them was enough to take on one of the Forgotten Beasts, and it had been a legendary battle recorded on textbooks and fortress walls.

The Eternal Queen just wondered how strong she was in comparison to them, it had been quite some time since she actually fought something, a hundred years, two hundred perhaps? She couldn't remember it well, it had been against a marsh titan in her lands, long before she moved here to Koshbomrek.

As she mused on various inane things, the soldiers continued fighting the undead. Slowly, but surely, the tide of undead thinned, gore and blood scattered throughout the hall. The Overseer ordered the monster hunter squads to rotate around in shifts every three hours, with the regular squadrons to rotate around their members every two hours so that they could catch up on some rest, and keep fighting in a steady pace.

The giants, strong as they are, are ultimately no match for the warriors who have honed their skills in battles against the forgotten beasts of the depths, and against the husks and thralls of the surface above, and were all slain. But the battle still wasn't finished, as the bodies of the dead kept on rising after every hour or so.

After a long and tiring battle, the Overseer ordered the soldiers to fall back inside the fortress, and made the Emerald Watchers stand guard and watch from the guardhouse for any more undead that could possibly be created from the numerous bodies that were scattered around the hallways. They couldn't bury them, a pity...

It was an arduous affair, but it was a victory. A victory that they had earned. A victory that they would celebrate. A victory to drown

After the battle, the taverns and the inns were filled with dwarves flushed from victory, drinking ale, sharing stories and laughing boisterously as they enjoyed this one victory of theirs. It was not only for the sake of those who lived to survive, but also for the dead, who could no longer celebrate with them. They laughed, and they cried. They drank to celebrate their victory, and drank away all their sorrows and their melancholies. They celebrated for their victories, and they mourned for their losses. For the loss of their brethren, they grieved and cried as they laughed and cajoled. For the sake of their fallen friends and family, and for their own sake, they have to laugh.

After all, they fought and lived another day, so why not laugh and drink before their appointed time? Their time was limited, after all, their lives harsh and their surroundings hostile.

Tomorrow, the Overseer would have to stress out on the abrupt loss of their food and alcohol stockpiles, and would have to increase the production of both resources, but today, they would have to have fun.

§

Damn it. I am tired. I am extremely tired.

A day after the battle, I immediately went back to my room, and ordered the bookeeper to give me an inventory of all the stocks left in the fortress, as well as a report on how many dwarves died during the defense of the fortress.

Fuck! _Fuckity fuckity-fuckity fucking_** FUCK!**

Various stocks were already in the red, especially the food and alcohol. We wouldn't last a bloody month if this keeps up for a couple of days. And this will keep up for bloody days!

I can't even cancel their damn parties! I don't have the power to cancel parties, that's just bullshit. And even if I did that, they'd kill me, Overseer or not!

Alright alright, I won't cancel them. I really won't! Can't even cancel those bloody parties... the fuckers...

Also, as a side note, I noted all the dwarves that died in the battle. The Emerald Watchers were also ordered to gather the corpses that they could gather, butcher them so that they wouldn't zombify and rise again, and give them a proper burial.

I don't want ghosts in my fortress, we already have enough of them. Just the last week we have an incident where one of the miners saw a ghost haunting the mines. And because of that, our metalsmiths rioted because of the lack of materials, and the purple pricks also rioted because they don't have their menacing titanium dragon dildos or whatever was it that they wanted.

I had to sacrifice three nights of sleep because of that. Mostly because of the dwarves demanding that I do something about it. Fucking cowards, as if that ghost killed someone. Now, if it was the ghost of old Limul the mad merchant, then it would be a different problem...

I wish the game had weapons that could kill ghosts, it would be easier if we could do that. Anyway, can anything even kill a ghost? Other than burying their body?

The Overseer Function kicked in automatically, and I began sorting out everything. It took me hours to make an accurate assessment of all the stocks available and formulate a proper response. Though my analytical skill was average, I have experience with this sort of thing._ Hah! _I was an accountant back then! I can audit and interpret all of this shit without difficulty!

I had written an order an increase in production of plump helmets, as well as dwarven alcoholic products like ale and rum. And then, I made some freeloaders into farmers, and ordered the miners to further expand the farms in their free time. Soldiers though, we needed more dwarves who could take up arms and fight. we suffered losses, great losses, losses which I couldn't guarantee that we'd be able to replenish easily.

The population of Slaughterwhips were far too low for a fortress of it's size and wealth, the biome was hostile, and is literally trying to kill them. Plus, the game limited the amount of inhabitants that were able to, well, inhabit a player-made fortress. Namely, a fortress like this one. I hadn't removed that limit yet when I was still playing it, and I wasn't sure if the limits of the game still applied to this new reality.

Even though I want to test the limits of the game, and see if it still applied here, it would probably be dangerous. Especially if I wanted to test if dwarves could run over magma and survive. Especially those purple fucks. I did test out the whip, and somehow, I was able to break bones. I don't even know much about physics, but I was sure that was impossible. Probably. If I remembered well, my whip was made out of silver, and it was quite heavy. Maybe if I took a scourge, I could break through armour?

Fuck it, I took Business and Management as my course, not this science and physics bullshit! I can leave the physics discussion to those virgin nerds, while they can leave the adult things like Economics and Commerce to me! I swear I'm not jealous of those snotty assholes! I swear I'm not!

And to add to that problem, I have also recieved letters coming from our various colonies, _Tombsaxes, Bloodcloisters, Inkwells,_ and_ Steelhold_, along with the cities of _Terrormachines, Hammerstruck, Havenfall, Shameticked, Goldenhall, Trustirons, Tanhills, Falseconstructs, Evildark, Towercalls,_ and some other lesser settlements in the area who weren't really that notable in my opinion. According to what I could gather, it seemed that they have lost contact with the other dwarven cities of the Empire, even some of the neighbouring countries disappeared without a trace and were replaced with different nations entirely. Hell, they even said they had contact with the Ferns of Dismay, the Devil of Frightening and the Scholarly Menace, who said that half of their territory disappeared overnight. Not only that, they have reported that the terrain itself was changed. Rivers appeared where there had been none, flat plains greeted them where there once was mountains, and mountains where there had been waters, and the like. What the fuck?!

If I heard someone say this, I'd think it was some kind of joke, and then put the people to said that into mining duty in the lower caverns. But this one had all the stamps and shit. It was even signed by various fucking nobles! I know that they could have probably done this as a prank, but they're nobles! They're too busy killing each other and some other political bullshit than pranking a fortress that is standing in the middle of a fucking evil biome.

Also, after further reading, the letter stated that they had also been sieged by some strange beasts that they say they found strange, like, and I quote, "giant humanoid beasts that attacked them without warning", and "ogres that could not speak nor understand their speech", and "cruel trolls that were far more taller and stronger than any encountered before", and "giant spiders that seemed different than the ones they've encountered before", and "goblins that seemed more like caricatures than anything else" and many more that they couldn't fit in the report.

What the fuck is this? This sounds like bullshit, but considering what I just read earlier, this bullshit sounds more believable than the whole 'half of our empire is gone!' bullshit. But since I got fucking transported into this game world and got turned into my character, anything is possible, even this bullshit. And I only know one being, one motherfucking pain-in-the-ass entity who not only would be capable of doing this, but also revel in this kind of fuckery.

Motherfucking Armok. The _Motherfucking _God of _Fucking_ Blood and War. He's the cause of all this strange shit, I just know it because he's exactly the sort of guy to do all this chaos and catastrophe for the shits and giggles. Armok! I know you're out there! Fuck you! Fuck all of this! I know you're laughing at me right now you peeping tom! Bloody fucking psychopath!

Haah... Because of all this weird fuckery that is going on, I had to write my own report as to how to deal with this entire clusterfuck. In fact, I had written so much that I probably have written an entire proposal detailing the numerous problems of the fortress, of the Empire itself, plaguing us as of now, as well as hypothetical situations that could still plausibly happen, and possible solutions to them.

I still wasn't sure how I managed to write them all, did I even have this much paper and ink in my room? Where did they come from?

Nope, I think it's better if I don't overthink about things. If I do that, I might end up doing weird experiments like building ice workshops near magma.

Hey, that sounds like a good idea! But where in this fucking hellhole would I get the ice to build an ice workshop to start with? _Hmmm..._

Wait, I'm getting sidetracked again. Focus, focus!

After much fucking around, I finally finished writing the damn report. Though I can't just pass this on to the baron and tell him to fuck off and do what I want. Or at least, the bureaucracy is stopping me from doing so, I could just go to the baron and do exactly that, but bureaucracy says I have to pass this report to the Queen, and so I have to pass this report to the Queen.

I don't like the Queen. I have this strange feeling whenever I go near her, like a chill coming up my spine. Everytime I approach her, I feel like I was being licked from head to toe with just her gaze, and then drain me all of my blood. It was both revolting, and terrifying, and I can't even do anything about it because we don't even have laws for this sort of shit. Last time I checked, we don't even have laws protecting us from... errr... harassment? And she's not only a woman, the Queen even! I can't just file a case against her, and we don't even have a courtroom ready yet! As far as I know, we don't even have lawmakers, and they're camping around the mountainhomes, which is probably gone now because of all this fuckery that's going on.

...I should order the construction of one after finishing the magma reservoirs, yes, I should do that some time... Probably also gather some lawmakers and judges... yes, let's put that on my ledger...

But still, the bureaucracy forces me to do this shit. It's basically written in the law! And it was my duty to obey the law as the Overseer of this fortress!

Wait a minute, am I not supposed to be the law? I am the fucking Overseer! Every word I say is law and my every whim and will is an order to follow! Hah? It's illegal? Why the hell is it illegal? I decide what is legal and what is illegal, and I say that it is not illegal! Fuck laws, I am the Overseer! Fuck the Queen!

Wait... Holy fuck. Holy shitting fuck. I just remembered, the Queen is a fucking vampire! She'd fucking kill me and suck my body dry! And she's old! She surely would have gained skill proficiencies and stat increases since her birth, and even if it wasn't much, my skill proficiencies aren't that high, so there would be a giant gap of ability between us. And she killed a fucking bronze colossus. A **FUCKING**** BRONZE ****FUCKING**** COLOSSUS!** I've only fought against undead and some sparring session with Catten, but I don't even think I could stand against a **BRONZE COLOSSUS** of all things! I can't challenge that kind of monster! And she beat that thing up with just a fucking spear!

And to add to that, her Royal Guard are all made up of vampires and necromancer, and I think one of them is a demon in disguise. If I do anything, I'd fucking die!

I'm already panicking, and I haven't even faced them yet! Calm yourself, calm yourself, **NOW!**

Fuck, I am not calm! Not Calm! **NOT CALM!**

Fuck it, I don't want to fucking die, so I should go with this whole bullshit tradition thing. And also because it was rude. Yes, it was rude! Absolutely rude and unsightly! It is totally rude to break tradition, and why I have thought of breaking it eludes me. It is totally rude, and it is unbecoming of an Overseer to break tradition, especially for an Overseer like me!

That's right! I'm not breaking the tradition not because I'm scared or anything, but because it is rudest to the extreme! Yes, let's go with that!

Thus, I have no choice but to do it. I had called for an audience with the Queen, and almost immediately, I was granted one. Strange, I was pretty sure that it should take at least a week or so before it would be processed but I had no time to think about that and so I went towards her Throne Room.

_I'm scared..._ No! I must not be scared! This is an extremely important thing that I need to discuss with the Queen! If she understands that this is an extremely important thing, then she might not kill me!

_No, that scared me even more!_

My body seemed to freeze stiff, but I forced myself to push the gigantic double doors open (were these doors always this huge? I don't remember...), and faced the Queen herself.

The Queen had that weird-and-creepy-looking smile on her face when I saw her, the sort you could find in pedophiles or priests or pedophilic priests when placed near children. Nope, I don't want to go near her, but when she looked at me with those dangerous-looking eyes, I could do nothing but walk as I approached her spiky scary throne.

There, on that menacing yet masterfully-crafted platinum throne flanked between the two giant statues, the Queen sat. She exuded both elegance and decadence as she glared at me across the Throne Room. As she was surrounded by the Royal Guards, all composed of beings that had already surpassed mortality itself, the Queen presented herself in a powerful manner.

I have no assistants of my own with me in that time, nor attendants nor guards, and I was alone. That feeling of fear and terror increased as I closed the distance between us-HOLY SHIT SHE's CLOSE! Why didn't I bring anyone! Why was I stupid?! I haven't fed her criminals yet. I need those criminals! We're running out of manual labour, okay!

Wait no, this is some kind of power-play, a_ political power-play!_ She's bringing her Royal Guard to show off her power! Does she want to steal all the power?!

That doesn't make sense though. Oh. Oh no! She wants my blood! She wants_ my _blood!

I wasn't being calm! I! Am! Not! Calm!

Calm yourself! Calm yourself, now!

...

...

In that instant, the Overseer Function took over. My mind was cleared of all the distractions and all the clutter that was filling my mind.

There was no need for such things in my head, this meeting relies on me doing the correct things and performing the proper rites in the proper times. As was traditional, I moved towards a more respectable distance to the Queen, and bowed deeply, as is proper for a dwarf of my ranking.

But sadly, I would have to break what is proper. I will have to break the traditional greetings, as we do not have the time for such lengthy greetings.

"Salutations, your Majesty." I spoke. Normally, this would be followed up by the standard greeting as was tradition, as well as several other rites, I had no time to follow through them. "Though it may be improper of me, I must apologize in my uncouthness, for this is a dire matter that we must discuss of imperatively."

The Royal Guard glared daggers at me, perhaps due to the disrespect I have shown, though they did not act. Was it due to the Queen's presence? In any case, I have to continue. I must continue.

"I implore you to grant me private audience, a meeting for all the administrators and nobles of this fortress, for this is a matter of life and death for Koshbomrek itself, and of the Empire as a whole."

§

The Eternal Queen of the Fatal Empires, and the First and Only Queen of the Fatal Empires sighed in resignation as she started the day. The last few days weren't really good, as she had not much to do. Though she had not yet drained her 'pet' of all her blood, it was no longer fun when her pet would no longer scream or cry, and only grunted slightly when she tried out various things with her. Perhaps she had already broken the mind of her pet? Well that was not good, as it meant that she couldn't try out new ideas on how to cause the greatest amount of pain, or to minimize pain and maximize blood loss, and of course, keep them alive for as long as possible.

And that girl merely lasted a month! _A month!_ The Queen knew others who could last longer than that! There was even that one elf who stayed defiant 16 years! _16 years!_ And that was just a mewling who recently took up a weapon, and he even managed to escape! And that human who dared to declare herself as the strongest warrior of the Ferns of Dismay was bested by _that_ mewling! Truly, as the name of their civilization implied, she never failed to dismay her.

It was a tragedy! _A tragedy!_ Oh how people have grown weaker as the years pass by, oh how she longed for someone who could even last a quarter as long as that elf child...

_No,_ perhaps there was one within this fortress who could not only last a quarter as long as that elf child! Nay, she perhaps even surpass him! But the Queen would rather not do such thing to her. Especially not someone who was currently handling all the problems of the fortress by her lonesome, and especially not someone whose cruelty and creativeness when it comes to dealing cruelty far surpassed even her own. Minkot was someone she would rather observe than to torture, it was simply too much fun to watch her go out her way to devise and conjure mechanisms and methods to torture others, methods which the Queen could not even begin to imagine.

Minkot, after all, was the one who had designed that mindbogglingly horrible and gruesome procedure which turned the once _(from what she heard)_ happy-go-lucky members of the Absolute Sword into the cold and emotionless killing machines that they are right now. And she even rewarded their hard work of slaying all the demons that invaded the fortress by letting them live there, building an outpost to physically and psychologically torture them even more, turning them into even better killing machines, erasing their concept of self from their psyche absolutely, and making them into mere tools of warfare and destruction.

Truly, 'tis a cruel fate for those in the Absolute Sword. Minkot was perhaps the cruelest person, no, she was the cruelest being that ever existed, far surpassing even the goblins and the demons in her callousness and inventiveness. And she personally knew several such demons in her thousand years of living

That was why she smiled as she read Minkot's appeal to call for an audience. It had been rather boring as of late, and it was rare for Minkot to even approach her, much less call for an audience with her august self. So, she decided to humour Minkot, and accepted her appeal.

What greeted her was a Minkot that was very serious, even by Overseer standards. The Queen felt extreme graveness as she gazed into her eyes, eyes that did not even dare to break as Minkot gazed back to her august self. Her movements were filled with power, not minding the lack of attendants or guards despite the presence of her Royal Guard. As if saying that whatever she was going to discuss was far more important than even them.

Minkot bowed, a nice and curt bow. Though immediately, she had raised her head, breaking the solemnity of the scene, and breaking the very standards of honour and eloquence that Minkot held so highly.

Her Royal Guard shook, their wide open eyes unbelieving of what they saw. She too was taken aback when Minkot rose without permission. It was very surprising for Minkot to do such thing, she never broke decorum, even when her life was threatened. But what could force Minkot to break decorum, then? What was happenning? The Eternal Queen could barely understand, and she dreaded it.

"Salutations, your Majesty. Though it may be improper of me, I must apologize in my uncouthness, for this is a dire matter that we must discuss of imperatively."

Minkot spoke, her voice grave and steely. But she did not give the Queen time to react, and she continued to speak.

"I implore you to grant me private audience, for this is a matter of life and death for Koshbomrek itself, and of the Empire as a whole."

The Eternal Queen of the Fatal Empires gazed at the Overseer of Koshbomrek, her amethyst eyes locked with Minkot's emerald ones. The Queen could feel the direness of Minkot's words, and then understood what she had meant.

"Very well." The Queen spoke. "I shall accept your plea, Overseer Minkot Tabarneth. However, the Throne Room is not the best place for a private audience. Rather, shall we discuss of this in my own chambers? After all, the lava here would spoil tea if we stay here, and I doubt you would enjoy staying here, what with all the magma and all..."

The Queen then rose from her platinum throne, and the Royal Guard moved to give both of them space. Minkot paused for a short instant, as if surprised by the suddeness of them all, but the Queen had said that she follow her, and Minkot followed two steps behind . Her Royal Guard surrounded both of them like bodyguards as they walked through the enormous halls and marble pillars, but as she thought about it, they probably do not need them. Not inside this fortress, anyway. The people here lack the backbone to do anything against her august self, and she doubted anyone would be stupid enough to challenge Minkot.

Still, they were still her Guard, and it was their duty to protect their liege. And for that, she commended their loyalty, even though their loyalty tends to clash with her own intentions.

"Oh, we have arrived." the Eternal Queen spoke as they stood infront a giant, intricately-designed set of double doors. The giant doors stood at three meters tall, and were made with an enormous amount of platinum and gold. The doors were flanked by two gigantic statues made of obsidian, both figures of herself striking a solemn pose with her weapon of choice. Even though she has been used to it now, she couldn't help but marvel at the mastery of their creators, as the statues themselves looked lifelike.

The Queen then faced her own Guards and gave them an order; "None of you shall pass beyond these doors. Only I and the Overseer are the only ones allowed to enter my private chambers, and it is your duty to make sure that it is so, understood?"

The Royal Guards looked at one another, some of them seemed confused, and some seemed to accept it, but she knew they were quite miffed about not being allowed inside her own private chambers. But still, orders were orders, and the order of the Queen was an order they must follow. And she personally would rather not want to invite these people inside her own room, as apart from her_ 'private dungeon'_, the Royal Chambers was her own personal space free from all their painfully overbearing loyalty.

After doing that, she opened the enormous double doors with her deceptively thin arms, and invited Minkot in. And when her guest had entered, she closed the giant doors, effectively locking both of them within her Royal Chambers.

Her room was large and well-designed, as it should be. The smoothed microcline walls were decorated with beautifully designed carvings, along with various luxurious cabinets filled to the brim with masterfully-crafted clothes made with fabrics made from exotics silks and leathers harvested from giant cave spiders and even some from the few forgotten beasts they have imprisoned within this fortress. Her bed was made from nethercap stalks, which stayed cool no matter the temperature, with the mattresses, the pillows, and blankets made from hemp and rope reed, traded from various other nations that have the luxury of having an aboveground farm. Her bookshelves were filled with various books that came from different parts of the world, with some of them stolen from necromancers who were notorious when it comes to authoring books, some of them written by the inhabitants of this very fortress itself. She even had that 6-page draft that Minkot wrote, placed right above her bedside table for her personal reading.

It was rather difficult to get that draft, though. Especially due to Minkot's paranoia.

Not to mention that the architecture of the room itself was impressive, and she wasn't sure if the dwarves back from the mountainhomes could create something like this.

"Please make yourself at home," the Queen spoke, making the atmosphere more casual, and directed her to her Dining Room. "I'll brew some tea, would you like some?"

Minkot seemed a bit more guarded than earlier, no doubt it was her natural paranoia in play. The Queen found it a bit cute when she acts paranoid, especially given Minkot's extreme cruelty.

"If your Majesty says so..." replied Minkot. "While I would personally like rum, our stocks of alcohol are already close to depletion as it is."

Ah, she was still worried about those parties that happened yesterday? The Queen found it a bit silly for Minkot to worry about alcohol stockpiles when they could most likely create more in the coming days, but Minkot was the sort of person who wouldn't understand jokes, and would take everything seriously.

"Alright then." The Queen spoke as she produced two steaming cups of tea from her own brewery, and then handed the Overseer a cup of her own.

Minkot accepted the cup of tea rather cautiously. She first mixed the tea lightly, observing it rather carefully. She then brought the tea to her nose, her nose twitching slightly as she took in the scent. And then she took a small sip, as if testing the taste, before she was seemingly satisfied, and began drinking the tea.

Really now, it was simply amusing to watch Minkot acting paranoid over a cup of tea. As if she would poison a guest within her own room, she would be a lot more subtle than that if she were to go out her way to assassinate someone. Or she could just straight up murder Minkot and hide her corpse, but it wouldn't be fun either way.

"So, you had said you have some terrible news." The Queen spoke as she placed the tea on the table, and rested her head on her left hand. "I would want to hear it."

This time, Minkot became even more serious, and took out a rather thick book bound in some kind of leather. "In here I have written a report about the situation from within the fortress, as well as the situation of the Empire. Though it may seem unbelievable at first, I have checked the information across my web of informants, and they are indeed credible."

Wait, she has a web of informants across the Empire? That honestly surprised the Queen, who didn't expect Minkot to actually care about anything outside the fortress. It would be quite alarming, if she hadn't found it amusing still.

The Queen then read the report that was handed to her, and idly scanned through it's contents. Mostly, it was just the status of the fortress, dealing with the undead problem, blah blah blah. If Minkot the Overseer could handle them, then she should let the Overseer handle them.

But then, there was this odd thing within the pages that stuck out like blood on a clean white cloth.

"Excuse me, but is this a mistake of some sort?" the Queen asked, her tone seemingly more amused than anything. "It says here that more than half of the Empire just disappeared in a single night, care to explain?

"That is not a mistake, your Highness." the Overseer replied back gravely and in such a serious tone. "Over half of the Empire had vanished within just a single night. We do not know why, we do not know how, but it happened, at least according to my sources."

_What?_

"Not only that, but it has also been confirmed that the terrain around our Empire also changed, with the Hills of Silence and the Honorable Gorges being replaced by mountains and plains, respectively." Minkot continued. "In addition, they have also reported sieges from strange creatures who call themselves as members of 'the Troll Kingdom' and declared that our Empire shall become their own food."

_Wait wait wait, what the hell is she talking about?_

Minkot then took out even more papers, neatly stacked and without folds, and placed them carefully on the table. "These are the letters I have recieved from the various colonies and cities within our empire, along with some reports on the altered geography and the local climate. Currently, their geographical and climate reports of the altered areas are still incomplete due to the recentness of this... entire event, but we must take all the information that we could feasibly gather, and formulate a proper response."

"Wait, what the hell is this? Is this a joke? This this some sort of elaborate prank, isn't it?" The Queen responded quite immediately. Was she becoming a part of Minkot's plans? Was she trying to torture her in the most convoluted and illogical of ways using confusing words and loads of paperwork?

Was this a request of her Guards? To overload her with paperwork? She will have none of that.

Minkot sighed. "That is what I thought at first, your Majesty, but I assure you that none of this is a joke. Does your Majesty still remember the siege yesterday?"

"Of course I do! Are you insulting me?" the Queen puffed as she pounded her chest, an action unbecoming of a regent like her. "Do not think that I am senile enough to forget something that I have done yesterday."

"Then, does your Majesty remember those strange, well-equipped giants we had battled that time?" Minkot asked, her visage as unmoving as ever.

Now that Minkot said it, those giants sure were strange. The equipment of those giants were rather uniform, implying that they were soldiers, and that they have a decent enough metalworking industry to produce their equipment. Still, the Queen thought that it wasn't odd, and she was pretty sure she could easily eliminate them all if her Royal Guard just allowed her to, so she didn't care. As if anything could survive her hammer strikes unscathed anyway...

"They could have been easily sent by the local necromancer towers." retorted the Queen. "But it would be strange, as I don't recall the necromancers having access to metalworking, or a supply of giants. And giants don't really come in such numbers."

"They were not." Minkot replied back. "Based on accounts from the Emerald Watchers, those giants came from a different direction than the towers, and were too scattered to be a proper army. It is both suspicious and alarming if your Majesty's guess was correct, but as your Majesty says, it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever."

"And to add to that," she continued. "Those skeletal wyverns we encountered during that battle? Our animal trainers and warriors could not match their corpses to any kind of wyvern they know, and their examinations show that most of them are, at least, of the same species. And have at catalogued at least 30 kinds of wyverns that live within the local area of our Empire, so it is highly unlikely that they are merely zombified wyverns."

The Queen took another sip from her teacup as she tried to compose herself, and then spoke; "In other words, you wish to say that something world-changing happened, and this world-changing event caused the disappearance of about half our empire, these strange undead sieges, and you expect me to think that this is not some sort of overengineered prank?"

"If your Majesty does not believe me, at least these letters and reports marked with the seal of the Fatal Empires would." the Overseer sighed, as if giving up.

"No, no no." The Queen immediately rebuked her. "I believe you, I really do. After all, it is known throughout the fortress, nay, throughout the entirety of the Empire that the Overseer of Koshbomrek could never lie even if her life depended on it."

Well, that and she really doesn't like to read their damn letters. It was simply soul-draining trying to read the annual reports, despite her being a vampiric being. Minkot really wasn't one to pull pranks. If anything, Minkot would be upfront about it and maybe dump her hundreds, if not thousands of papers coming from across the Empire, most of which are appeals written by the nobles to do the most inane things like calling for the execution of some peasant who didn't make them an obsidian statue of themselves within a month.

She really hated that appeal. In fact, it was one of the main reason as to why she moved here in Koshbomrek, other than the fact that it rained blood, which seemed like a rather nice thing at first until she learned that the blood here tasted rather bland.

The Queen took another sip from her cup, and noticed that it was almost empty. "Oh," the Queen spoke. "I shall get some more tea. Would you like a refill?"

"There is no need, your Majesty." Minkot replied as she drank. Her tea seemed as if it was barely touched. She was probably still paranoid about it. Yes, she probably still is.

"Ho? Alright then. More tea for my self." The Queen then stood up, and began to brew some more tea for herself. When she returned, the Queen was carrying a whole porcelain teapot and placed it on the table.

This will be a long night, the Queen thought. At least there was a lot of tea to keep her focused.

§

Finally, my private audience with the Queen ended. She didn't ambush me and then suck up all my blood, or poison my drink and then suck up all my blood, so I think it went fairly well, I _guess?_

The Queen was still terrifying as fuck though. I would not want to do that again, not unless it was very important. And that tea! The damn tea was suspicious! And it tasted like shit too! I had to force myself to swallow that awful-tasting liquid down my throat so that the Queen wouldn't order my execution or something. Why did I even order that tea? _It sucks!_ She can't brew for shit!

I should probably send some poor sa-I mean a master brewer to her room and make him the Queen's Personal Tea Brewer. It was a necessary sacrifice, so I shall grant him certain privileges like having a larger share of the food and alcohol stockpile or something.

Damn, that tea tasted like ass. Wait, no, ass doesn't taste like that, it tastes like shit. No, it tastes even worse than shit. Thankfully I didn't gag when I drank it. I mean, it smelled good and looked good, but she sucks! Her tea fucking sucks damnit!

Though, regarding about the meeting, she took it surprisingly well. While the Queen did asked questions to clarify some points, she didn't question just how utterly batshit insane things were. However, the Queen did say that she must take a leave to 'see the whole situation for herself', so I bet that even she found it batshit insane.

At the end of that meeting, the Queen said that I can enact my proposed projects to increase the defenses of the fortress and solve it's problems, while she would head out with her Royal Guard to visit the cities which sent those letters. While I don't like the Queen, and in normal circumstances I would want her out to do whatever she wants and not fuck around in my fortress, but these aren't normal circumstances. If she died, I would have to deal with whatever fuck decided to be the next ruler of the Empire, and I don't want to deal with that, at least the Queen does literally nothing and that is good for my mental health. So, I also ordered to send three of the best soldiers of the fortress, the soldiers of the Absolute Sword, to go along with her and basically guard her. Well, what I mostly said was 'protect the Queen and make sure she comes home safely' but that's probably enough I guess. I can't send any more soldiers than that, because there are literally demons living just underneath our feet, and because I need every single dwarf I could get, especially those 12 year old paras-kids who were essentially being a useless drain to our stocks.

A-Anyway, disregarding that teensy-tiny violation of the rights of those parasi-children I had already outlined my plans to Baron Roldethilrom, and ordered that they be enacted immediately. After that, I also prepared the materials and supplies the Queen and her bodyguards, as well as her carriage. I don't know why they need a carriage, considering that we don't have a horse, but oh well, I shouldn't think hardly about that.

Welp, once that was done all I have to do is to work hard and make this fortress survive for the next few months.

Fuck.


	7. Chapter 6: Dealing with Strangers, 1

**24th of Granite, 1083**

The Eternal Queen of the Fatal Empires sat down on a lovely leather seat made from the tanned hide of a forgotten beast, sipping tea from her precious cup as she gazed on the various dwarves milling about beneath her. Currently, they were hauling various barrels and sacks filled with equipment and supplies they would need for their trip to the cities of her Empire, and they were already preparing the carriages and the wagons that will take them there.

Though, if one would look closely, there were no beasts of burden to carry the carriages nor the wagons. The haulers below didn't seem to notice this, however, and simply continued their job of hauling supplies. Perhaps they really weren't just perceptive enough to notice that discrepancy. Really now, even children should know that carriages should have something that will carry them.

But nevermind that, it seemed that they were almost finished in packing up all the necessary crates and barrels, and were beginning to disperse and return back to the lower layers. Well, it really wasn't safe up here, given the recent undead siege as well as the usual corpses rising here and there, but the Queen was confident that her Guard could easily take care of that.

Oh, and also alongside them were the members of the Absolute Sword. Really now, Minkot shouldn't be that worried of her. She could very well handle her own, after all she wouldn't be the Eternal Queen if she wasn't strong.

She was then approached by one of those soldiers. A female swordsdwarf, if the sword on her belt was of any indication. "Your Majesty, it seems that the carriages and the wagons do not have horses to carry them."

_How perceptive of you_, the Queen wanted to say, but she contained herself. It was simply unbecoming of a Queen to speak like such, even to her retainers.

"Perhaps the Overseer couldn't spare any animals to this task. This shall be be rectified..." the swordsdwarf grumbled, yet her voice was eerily monotonous and empty.

And then, an idea seemed to pass through that swordsdwarf's head, and clapped her hands. "Very well then. If that is the case, then we of the Absolute Sword shall serve as your Majesty's steed. Our strength shall be enough for this task."

"What." The Queen had been taken by surprise, and later, amusement. Had she heard this dwarf right? Was she really willing to carry the carriages and the wagons? How interesting... She had underestimated Minkot's ability to break people, perhaps she should ask about it later? No, that won't do. Minkot wasn't one to share her own secrets...

"There is no need for that." One of her Guards, an axe lord, interjected. When did he get here? The Queen swore he wasn't there earlier. "Our horses are already here."

He pointed towards the carriage below, which was currently surrounded by undead monsters. Instinctively, the swordsdwarf and her companions instinctively raised their weapons.

"There is no need to be violent," spoke the axe lord in a calm, but wary tone. "Those undead are controlled by one of us, so rest assured that they won't harm you, not unless you draw their ire..."

"Controlling the undead, you say?" the swordsdwarf spat back. "So you admit it, you filth. I did not think that the Royal Guard has such foul beings in their ranks, nor that they would allow such creatures to even exist."

"Oh, you do not want to anger us, child. Though the Overseer and the Queen may be acting cooperatively, the same cannot be said for us. We serve the Queen, and the Queen alone. We do not take orders from you, and we certainly would not take this crap from a child like you."

"Then I shall take your head, necromancer."

"Not unless I take yours first!"

_Oh ho_, it seems that there's a bit of rivalry going around here. Though it would be amusing to see what would happen next, sadly, she was not here to see them fight one another. There was a larger problem they must resolve immediately, and their childish simply irritated her more than she could enjoy it.

"Enough, both of you!" the Queen bellowed in tone of annoyance, and the two dwarves stopped as they heard her voice. "You are both soldiers, not children. I expected more from both of you."

They fell silent. That was better.

"Now, if the information that was relayed to and was gathered by Minkot is correct, then our Empire may perhaps be in a perilous situation. One we do not understand as of yet. Though I understand that both of you may not like each other, you have no choice but to get along with one each other. You can continue with whatever petty squabbles you have after we finish resolving this problem, do you understand?"

"We hear and obey, my Liege."

"Understood, your Highness."

"Good."

The Queen then rose from her velvety leather seat, and faced the axe lord. "Anyway, are the preparations for this trip complete?"

"It is complete, my Liege." he spoke. "All the equipment and the supplies are accounted for and are in place, and we have also prepared the special package as well. We have also prepared a separate carriage for the three other dwarves, but it seems that they are not that receptive to undead labour."

Well, that certainly is understandable, given that they aren't creatures of the night. Perhaps they may even insist in becoming horses for her carriage and the wagons, but while that may be an interesting sight to see, it would be problematic in the long run.

"You, swordsdwarf." she pointed towards the other dwarf. "What is your name?"

"I am Sergeant Matul Delerducim the Steel of Justice, your Majesty." the adamantine-clad dwarf replied as she saluted. "I am yours to command as you see fit."

Gods, she was even stiffer than her own Royal Guards. "Is that so, Sergeant Matul?"

"It is so, your Highness. As a soldier of the Fatal Empires, it is my duty to obey the commands of my Regent." Matul replied.

"So, you would rebel against the Overseer if I ordered you to do so?"

Matul fell silent, and froze in place. The swordsdwarf's breath seemed heavy, and the Queen's vampiric eyes could see Matul's blood race throughout her veins.

"So you have no answer, it seems."

The Queen had spoken the truth. "I am afraid so, your Highness." Matul replied. "Even if your Majesty were to command it, I cannot possibly go against the Overseer's will."

Just how much of their own pride was degraded by Minkot? The Queen was now much more intrigued as to how that cute and cruel Overseer turned them into what they are. Sadly though, Minkot wasn't one to share secrets, or even details about herself.

"Very well then." said the Queen. "It's not like I have any plots to overthrow her or anything of that sort, though your loyalty to the Overseer is to be commended. I applaud you for that."

The swordsdwarf remained silent, and on her knees.

"However, as Minkot herself has temporarily lent me both you and your other friend, as it stands you technically are now my property." The Queen continued. "As your Queen, and as your owner, you shall be following my every order and every command. You will obey them without question and regardless of your own likes or dislikes, and you will perform them to the utmost of your ability, and exceed my expectations. And if you dare break any of my commands, I shall punish you as I see fit."

Matul didn't flinch even as the Queen spoke, the flow of her blood remained as normal. Perhaps she was used to this sort of thing already?

"I must remind you now that you are under my command, you will be treated no better than an animal. You are no longer a soldier, you are not even a dwarf now, but a slave who will follow my every whim and command. You will have no say in any of this, and you have no choice but to do so. For me, you are of even less worth than that of a lowly dog, so I will not care even the slightest if you die."

Well, that was a lie. Minkot would get angry if she killed her precious toys, but it would be fun if she could rile her up even a bit.

But it seems that this girl was as impervious as her master. Matul did not even budge even after she tried to infuriate her, the girl didn't even react when the she tried to push her buttons by insulting her pride. How stiff...

"For now, I order you to get along with my guards. I don't care if you like them or not, but regardless you will get along with them. Do I make myself clear?"

Matul raised her head, and spoke. "If it's your Majesty's wish, then it shall be done."

The Queen smiled, "Good. Now I order you to accompany me in those carriages. You will be joining me alongside two of my guards. I gather that you wouldn't cause any trouble with them, no?"

"If that is your Majesty's command, then it shall be done."

"Very well then." replied the Queen. Well, stiff she may be, perhaps she could have a little bit of fun with the soldier. After all, diplomatic missions are quite dull without a little bit of sadism.

And then, her chariot moved. The gates to the outside opened as the lever was pulled, almost thrice within this year now. The deathly air poured in to the corridors when the drawbridge fell, and they were greeted with the sight of the outside world.

The ground was tainted red. The air reeked of rust. Worm-like tendrils grew like grass over the crimson earth, squirming and writhing alongside eyeball stalks that gazed back at them. There were not much trees around the plains, and the land was strewn with countless bones. Across the horizon were dark and evil fogs, the corrupting dust sailing across where the wind will bring them.

"The weather seems agreeable for now." one of her Guardsdwarves spoke. "If we leave immediately we can avoid the corrupting dust and leave before the skies rain blood."

The Queen looked at the plains once more. It had been some time since she saw the surface, but it seemed that not much has changed since she first settled in this fortress.

"Then let us leave, then." she spoke. "I do not want to get caught up with those nasty fogs, nor would it be good for us to catch the rain."

"As you wish, My Liege." the Guardsdwarf said, before he then shouted some more commands to the others. One of her Guardsmen opened the carriage door for her, and the Queen had stepped into the carriage. She then sat beside the two soldiers of the Absolute Sword and two of her Guards. The other members of her Guard were outside, preparing the undead horses and their wagons and their own carriages.

Soon enough, when the other dwarves were ready the Queen felt the carriage move. Quite suddenly, in fact, as the carriage lurched forward almost unexpectedly, causing her to almost fall out of her seat. Luckily enough, she didn't, though it seems that her Guards had noticed it, as they seemed to be trying hard enough not to laugh.

That's it, she will punish them later for this transgression. As soon as they finish with this tiresome mission she will personally mete out justice for this treachery! They will pay for this!

The Queen only barely managed to contain her own sadistic imagination before her Royal Guards caught a glimpse of her mad smile, and promptly silenced themselves. There was a moment of awkward silence before one spoke.

"Uh, Your Majesty, if this one is too presumptuous to ask, but...where exactly _are_ we headed?"

The dwarf who asked her carried a crossbow. Matul's own partner, perhaps, bowed his head as he asked his question. He carried with him light adamantine armour, and an iron mask similar that to that swordsdwarf.

_...What?_

"Imbecile." one of her Guards, an axe lord, rebuffed him. "How come you do not know where we are headed? Is the Absolute Sword filled with mindless buffoons? I have expected more from the Overseer's retinue, but it seems that even the Overseer has her limits."

The soldier, unfazed by the earlier outburst of the axe lord, continued. "The Overseer has given me some information about our destinations as well as a map of the known roads in the Empire, but since the Royal Guards have chosen not to disclose and corroborate information about the planned route with us, I am unable to fully assess the potential risks and danger that may befall upon this caravan, and this may severely hamper our response to any situation that may possibly arise."

How interesting, thought the Queen. This dwarf was surely different than his partner, as even that girl was more livelier than he.

"Child, what is your name?" she asked him, though it was more of an order than a request.

"I am Colonel Rashgur Sïsalillir the Confining Emptiness." he replied in a flat and dour tone.

"Rashgur." she began to speak. "Can you tell me where we are headed?"

"I am unable to, our Majesty." Rashgur answered honestly. "Though if I were to guess, we might be heading either to Angzakstâkud or to Delerkegeth, as they are both the nearest to our fortress, followed by Limulîton as both are connected to it through Imperial roads."

"Also, according to the Overseer there had been a recent debacle on Delerkegeth about an encounter with a human settlement of unknown size from a yet unknown civilization who attacked a dispatched squadron assigned to scour the area." he continued. "The problem is yet unresolved, and the Overseer expects that Delerkegeth may have fallen as soon as their letter arrived. Travelling through there would be extremely dangerous, and thus I propose that we avoid Delerkegeth as much as possible."

"Pathetic..." mumbled one of the Guardsmen.

Interesting... Though Minkot had probably mentioned it during their emergency meeting, it had absolutely slipped her mind. To be fair, those meetings were rather dull and boring, without intrigue or any of such things. This was far more interesting compared to that.

Perhaps she could, no, should visit there first before heading to Angzakstâkud? This was absolutely a matter of national security after all, and it is very important. Yes, yes it is...

"Osod."

"My Liege?"

"A change in plans. We must move to Delerkegeth immediately." she spoke.

"But your Highness-"

"My Liege," the axe lord beside her spoke warily. "Are you sure of this idea? If we head to Delerkegeth, we might delay our arrival on Angzakstâkud. The nobles wouldn't be happy with it."

Who would even care about those nobles? Certainly not she, of course. She was the Queen, after all. Who cared about what those fools think?

"I want to see the situation in Delerkegeth first." the Queen answered. "Then only can I assess the threat that looms over my Empire."

"But your Highness, this is utterly dangerous!" Rashgur objected. "We do not know what dangers may await us in those lands, we cannot risk it!"

"Fool!" decried Osod. "Do you mean to imply that we cannot defend the Queen?! Or do you mean to say that you cannot defend the Queen even from petty human soldiers?"

"We cannot risk the safety of the Queen for a such a simple task." the soldier rebuked him. "With the situation as it is right now, we are left completely in the dark. We cannot risk the Queen being attacked there, not without reinforcements, and certainly not without our current numbers!"

"Oh, please, save me your excuses! If the Absolute Sword is incapable of defending the Queen, then we of the Royal Guard shall do it for you! Clearly the Swords aren't as good as the rumours say, as they fear battle even against the puny humans!"

"**SILENCE!**" The Queen bellowed, her voice overpowering that of their own. "**SILENCE, BOTH OF YOU!**"

Everyone paused as they focused their attention on the Queen.

"Both of you declare yourselves to be great soldiers of the Fatal Empires, yet you squabble like petty children! Pathetic! Act like your ranks!" she chastised them.

"Apologies, your Highness."

"Apologies as well, my Liege."

Both of the dwarves lowered their heads. "I do **not **want to **hear** of **any** of your squabbling nonsense, and if I ever hear it again I **shall **have **both** of **your** heads, do you understand?!"

"Understood, your Highness."

"Of course, my Liege."

"**Good.**"

By the gods, this was giving her headaches and she didn't even have blood. Sometimes, even she couldn't stand how overbearing her own Guards were, or how utterly prideful they were. And being with Minkot's dwarves was quite taxing on her nerves.

"Osod."

"Yes, my Liege?"

"Notify the others about the change in our plans." she ordered. "And you, Rashgur."

"Your Highness?"

"Since you yourself object to my plan, I shall send you and Osod to scout Delerkegeth for any dangers when we arrive there." the Queen spoke. "I trust that you do not have any problems with this, is that correct?"

Osod seemed a bit shocked when he heard it, but he kept silent.

"Of course, your Majesty."

"Y-yes, my Liege."

"Good." she said. At least they wouldn't cause even more headaches when they get there...

She hoped. 

§

Delerkegeth. It had been one of the more developed colonies of Koshbomrek, and it had also been the first one to be authorized by the Overseer herself in the earlier days of the fortress. Because of it's proximity and strategic location, it became a popular trading hub where traders would buy and sell various wares, and where the trading caravans from other parts of the world would drop off before hiring local mercenaries to protect them from the savage environment of the mountainhomes. Due to it's special circumstances, it had also became a haven for all sorts of unruly and illicit activities, as the local authorities didn't mind them, except perhaps only when it threatens their own position.

Really, it was one of the only cities in the Empire where such trades were allowed. They even said that Delerkegeth was the only city in the world where you can buy things ranging from necromancer books to vampire blood. And they remarked that Delerkegeth was more impressive compared to Koshbomrek, at least when it comes to architecture.

Right now, however, it didn't seem to do well. Even from afar, the city looked rather deserted. Where there once was busy traders in their wagons, there was only dust. Merchants hadn't sold their items in their stalls, instead they filled the streets like aimless ants that scatter in confusion.

"It seems that the local terrain has been altered by the Event." spoke Rashgur. "The river that used to flow at the center of the city seems to be cut off, and there are forests in places where they shouldn't be."

"I am not blind, you fool! I can see what has changed." Osod rebuffed him. He still seemed a bit angry from the humiliation back in the Queen's carriage.

The Eternal Queen of the Fatal Empires had sent them on a mission to scout the local area, and Rashgur intends to fulfill the Queen's order to the letter. The Royal Guards she brought with her had already built a camp for them to stay for the night, but even they found it rather difficult to identify the location itself, due to the change in terrain. Pity he could not yet read the stars, this task would be much more simpler if he understood them.

Thus, he started by creating a map of the local geography and compared it to older maps.

Strange, even seeing it right now with his own two eyes, Rashgur found it rather difficult to believe that an event of unprecedented scale happened, where even the face of the world itself changed and monsters yet unknown sprung up to challenge them.

"Good for you then." he replied. "It's nice to hear that even the Royal Guards still use their eyes and ears in their duties."

"Why you- do you wish your own death to come earlier, child?"

"My life now belongs to the Overseer." answered the marksdwarf. "Whether I die or not is immaterial, I live only to fulfill the duty I had been given. Nothing more, and nothing less."

"Bloody automaton..." the axe lord grumbled, before returning to silence.

They had scoured the whole area an hour before, and Rashgur made sure to take note of every possible threat that could possibly endanger the safety of the monarch. Osod had eliminated most of them easily.

As they continued scouting, Rashgur managed to spot a rather peculiar sight at the edge of the horizon. He could see shimmers of light that seemed to move acroos the plains, and he could spot a cloud of brown dust following behind their trail...

"There's movement in the north." he spoke. "I count about twenty to thirty. They seem to be carrying metal with them, probably steel or iron."

"No need to tell me." Osod replied, clicking his tongue. "I can see them as well."

Suddenly, they heard the sound of a loud horn, and they could see the doors of the city close. A few minutes later, they could see the soldiers of the city position themselves in the walls.

"They most likely aren't friendly, perhaps they are those humans that you spoke of earlier?" the axe lord quipped. "Are you sure you do not want to flee? You did say that you wish not to face the humans for you are weak and powerless."

"My duty is to protect the Queen. That is what the Overseer had ordered me." answered the marksdwarf. "I advise you to notify the Queen of this problem. Her safety is of utmost priority."

"Tch." Osod clicked his tongue. "Fine. I shall send a message towards them, and notify them about what we found."

The Guardsdwarf walked around the area for a while, towards a group of keas that flocked near a rotting corpse. Before the birds could flee him, Osod managed to capture one with his meaty fists, and took out a knife from his pocket.

"What are you doing." asked the marksdwarf, but Osod payed it no heed, and used the knife to slit its neck.

Blood flowed from the wound of the injured bird. It struggled and it fought, but it was no match against the Guardsdwarf's fist. And once it was drained of all it's blood, Osod loosened his grip and spoke to it.

"Deliver a message to my comrades" the axe lord whispered to the corpse of the now-dead avian. "Tell them that we had seen the enemy. Tell them to prepare. Now fly!"

The corpse, then began to shudder and rise unnaturaly, and jolted upwards as it stood on its legs and began to flutter its wings. A moment afterward, the corpse-bird flew away and followed his command.

As the corpse vanished in the sky, the two dwarves then focused towards the oncoming army. Osod unslung his titanium axe while Rashgur began loading his platinum crossbow with bolts of steel.

The army was closer now, and they came to a complete halt just a couple kilometers away from the city. They didn't seem to spot them, but it seems that they were keen on scouting first, and detached a small group of cavalrymen towards Delerkegeth.

"We must head back safer ground." Rashgur told the necromantic axe lord. But Osod refused him.

"Only a coward would retreat in the face of their enemies." he replied. "Besides, what can mere humans do anyway? I am confident that I can take them alone with just my arm, unlike a certain pathetic excuse of a soldier."

Rashgur could only shoot him with a displeased glare, the bolts he had should only be used on targets less trivial than him, and the Queen had already given her order. It wouldn't reflect well of the Overseer if he decided to act rashly.

"If you insist." Rashgur spoke. "I shall leave you here while I look for higher ground. Whatever happens, it shall no longer be of my concern."

And after that, the marksdwarf left. Though little might be known of the Queen's Royal Guards, he expected that Osod would perhaps take care of them adequately enough. They weren't the Queen's Guards for nothing, after all.

There was a cliff just nearby. It wasn't quite tall, just barely thirteen or fourteen meters in height, but it would give him a good enough view of the situation from above. From there, the marksdwarf could see them approach even closer, and he could see them even clearer.

Tch. It seems that the guardsdwarf chose to approach them directly. Foolishness. He prepared to aim his crossbow in case hostilities break out. Though he was at loath to admit it, the guardsdwarf was still important. The Queen would be displeased if one of her retainers were harmed. And that would reflect badly to the Overseer, who even allowed them to experience the world beyond the Hell they were supposed to guard and conquer, even for just a while.

Meanwhile, Osod took the initiative, and decided to meet the coming humans on his own terms. Unlike that coward of a soldier, he feared these humans not, but Rashgur was correct to prioritize minimizing risk. However, in his opinion, it was much more ideal to gather information about his foes, identify their strengths and weaknesses to formulate a plan to counter them. To do that, the axe lord needed to get closer to them.

He was confident in both his strength and skill. After all, he had honed his skill for more than a couple hundred years at minimum. If they were hostile, he was confident enough that he could take care of them. But in all honesty, Osod would rather prefer to use diplomacy over force, even if his tongue was admittedly rather sharp.

The axe lord could hear the sound of both horses and men, he could now clearly identify their faces. He counted four, no five. There were five human soldiers, all of them wearing unfamiliar iron plates and garb. He could not tell from which empire nor kingdom these men hailed from, but if the Overseer's report were correct then they must be those humans who had encountered Delerkegeth's militia.

Should he kill them right here or should he let them go? While Osod knew that killing them here was much more easier, there was no guarantee that their main force wouldn't attack. It was too risky, though he is confident enough that he could kill off these men the main force might take notice of this and retreat to call for reinforcements. Hell, they would be lucky if they even declare war, at least that way they would have a handle on their adversaries. Without any knowledge about their enemies, it would mostly develop into multiple skirmishes across their territory, or even fight against a numerically superior foe and grind them all to dust.

If the world truly had turned itself over, with lands appearing and disappearing all over the place, they would have to traverse unknown landscapes, deal with the problem of supplying troops across them while also charting new geography at the same time. It was a logistical nightmare just waiting to happen. For now at least, it was much more sensible to hold his hand.

The humans began to move now, and Osod followed behind them discreetly. He moved from bush to bush, and hid from tree to tree. Though he kept a good distance from those humans, it seemed that they knew they were being watched, as they began to spread out and began to scout around the area. One of their horsemen trotted dangerously close to him, and he readied his weapon just in case the horseman came too close.

The horseman did not notice him, and after a few seconds that man quickly left just moments later after seemingly spotting nothing. This gave Osod a clearer view of the equipment carried by the horseman, a strange blue tunic along with a similarly strange cylindrical helmet that sported a strange circular shape at its face which he could perhaps only assume was a visor of some sorts.

Strange. That was what he would describe them all as.

From how they moved and spoke, they seem carry an air of arrogance with them. They didn't seem strong, nor did they seem like skilled warriors, but they had the arrogance that were typical that of soldiers that were perhaps a bit too overconfident for their own good.

A plan hatched in the head of the axe lord. Though it certainly wasn't good if he killed all of them, perhaps he could ascertain their strengths by challenging them, and forcing them to a retreat? It was unlikely that they would send an army to fight against a single warrior, and he only need to capture at least one of them in order to fulfill his goal.

Very well then, Osod then thought. That seemed doable enough. The axe lord had readied his trusty weapon, and began to charge towards the enemy. The humans were surprised when he appeared, but they reacted quickly, and hastily readied their swords. One of the horsemen shot an arrow towards him, but he had dodged it easily enough. Osod then raised his axe, and swung it down towards the nearest horse, crippling one of its legs.

The horse had fallen to the ground along with its rider, and Osod quickly stomped on his stomach, pining him down, and pointed his axe towards his neck.

"Who are you?!" he asked them. "Which country do you serve?! And why are you here?!"

Suddenly, a firebolt was launched towards him. Osod dodged quickly, and raised his shield.

What? Magic? Since when were humans able to use magic?! The Axe Lord found this alarming. Only necromancers and the elves were capable of magic. Of course, they did not seem to be necromancers, and those knife-eared savages only use them to shape their wood, as it is obvious that a proud immortal race like them would not easily share the secrets of their magic, and even then, only a few of their kind would actually learn how to perform them.

But the humans were easily wielding them like one would wield a weapon. This could only mean one thing...

"Demons!" Osod cursed. In an instant, the axe lord leapt towards his opponents, and swung his axe, crushing one of the demon-men's heads underneath their metal helmets, and stomped on his chest with such power that it had crushed it's ribs and punctured it's hearts and lungs, and forced it to cave in.

Bolts of magic let loose into the air as the demon-men chanted their wicked spells, and the axe lord raised his shield to defend against them, and held his ground. With a gesture of his hand Osod raised the corpse of the now-dead demon-man, and it immediately charged into battle.

For some strange reason, the zombie had alarmed these demon-men, and they renewed their effort in the battle. Some of the demon-men began launching arrows into the air, and Osod was quick to avoid them.

More magic was unleashed, and he was bathed in magical light. He raised his shield instinctively, covering himself up. Once the light had dissipated, Osod immediately charged towards his opponents, and struck another of these demon-men. His axe cut cleanly through the demon-man's neck, and the head flew into the air.

Suddenly, he was assaulted by a feeling of weakness, and he dropped his weapon into the earth. Was this one of their foul magics too? Osod then raised both the body and the severed head of the freshly-killed demon-man, and it immediately ran to aid it's master.

A bolt flew into the air, and struck another of the demon-men, punching through it's stomach and pinning it down on the ground.

The demon-men took notice of this, and immediately pointed towards the crossbowdwarf's possible location.

But they were too late.

A hail of of crossbow bolts followed, each bolt striking true as they each pierced the hearts of the demon-men. It was quick, and ruthless. One by one, the demon-men fell, giving them no time to strike back or even react. Soon enough, the demon-men lay dead, their bodies pierced with multiple crossbow bolts.

The feeling of weakness subsided, and Osod then quickly raised the remaining dead into intelligent zombies. Though his original plan called for simply scaring them away, if these soldier had been actually demons, then this meant terrible news...

"Alright, which one of you is the leader?" 

§

"Osod, are you sure about this... information?"

"Yes, my Liege. We have encountered these... soldiers in the forest near the city. Had we not arrived even a second earlier, then the city would have surely fallen."

The Queen of the Fatal Empires rubbed her temples as she took in this information. First, half her empire had simply disappeared, and now this? What's next, having a skeleton talk to her about forming alliances with her kingdom? Truly, the world has gone even more insane since she last went out of Koshbomrek, and what was it, just 6-7 decades ago?

She needed more blood just to cope with it. Sadly enough, it seems that they weren't able to procure more for her, despite having killed the scouting force they sent.

She gazed at the undead soldier behind the guardsdwarf, whose chest had been punctured with five steel bolts from one of the soldiers Minkot personally chose to assist her. It was particularly amusing to see it while he was prostrating, where the bolts stuck on him could be seen passing through his chest to his back.

"You." she pointed at the recently-dead soldier. "From where do you hail from?"

"I am a soldier of the Slaine Theocracy, and a member of it's Sunlight Scripture." spoke the undead soldier, who was remarkable lucid despite his appearance. "I was ordered by our captain to scout the area where we encountered your Majesty's soldiers, as well as investigate the strange appearances of new landmass within the Katze Plains."

Strange landmasses, eh? So it seems they weren't the only ones. Though, she had never heard of this... _'Slaine Theocracy' _or this '_Katze Plains' _in her memories, despite her thousand years of existence in this world.

"What is your name, soldier?"

"My name is Thalin Ort Rixit, your Majesty."

_Thalin Ort Rixit?_ Those words do not match up to any known words in the human language, the Queen thought.

"Thalin." the Queen began. "Tell me, are you a demon?"

"A demon?" the undead soldier rubbed his chin. "No, your Majesty. As far as I know, I am not a demon."

"But how were you able to cast such magics, then?" the Queen asked. "Only elves, necromancers, demons, titans, forgotten beasts, and the angels of the gods are capable of wielding magic, and even then, only the latter four have the ability to cast different types of magic."

Now Thalin looked at her with a strange look on his undead face. "Pardon me your Majesty, but do you mean to say that none of you here can cast magic, aside from sir Osod?"

"No, not particularly." she answered. "Some of my guardsdwarves here are practitioners of necromancy. But we know not of magics that allow us to wield fire and force weakness unto others."

"Those magics?" Thalin looked surprised. "Those are but simple First Tier magic that anybody could learn. They had been taught to us by the Six Great Gods thousands of years ago. I myself can cast magic up to the Fourth Tier, though that took several years of studying magic until I could wield it myself."

_First Tier? Fourth Tier? _The Queen could not understand any of this human's words. What does he mean by it? What does he mean by these _'Six Great Gods'?'_

"My Liege, we have spotted movement from the main body!" shouted one of her guardsmen. They are moving in to this city!"

"Keep Her Majesty safe!" shouted one of the Swords.

"Ready the weapons!" shouted another.

"Thalin." she spoke again, a grin forming on her face. "We shall continue this conversation later. In the meantime, we will be invaded by your former comrades, so tell me, what shall we be facing against?"


End file.
